Hymn for the Missing
by The Person Under Your Bed
Summary: Stein continued to shake as he doubled over, the chair flying back. He wrapped his arms around his abdomen as he stumbled on his feet, trying to keep control of his balance. His respiration was now rapid with short, shallow breaths. "Franken!" Marie almost screamed as she rushed to his side. "What's happening?" ... He stood a few feet away from her, holding a shining steel scalpel.
1. Chapter 1

Paste your

**The Madness in Me... Can You Help Me Escape? Ch. 1**

Professor Franken Stein woke to the bright screen of his computer glowing on his face. There were notes about his latest project all over the screen. He yawned and looked at his wrist watch and noted that it was three a.m. "Damn." He said as he raised his arms, leaned backward and stretched his back in his green and white stitched office chair. While he was stretching, he turned his head to the left and saw the slightly broken seven-foot-tall mirror leaning up against a wall. All he saw was his same old self: grey hair, stitched white lab coat, grey stitched boots, large iron bolt going through his head from the left temple and a stitched scar going across his face. But after a moment he saw something strange in his eye.

It was as if his eye had changed color for a brief flash of time. As if it went from green to a sick greenish- red. Puzzled, he limped- his leg had fallen asleep- to the mirror. He stared into the mirror, observing his eye. _Perhaps it was just the glare of the computer screen on my glasses._ He thought as he removed them and cleaned them on his lab coat and put them back on. But this bothered him slightly for some reason... Then he looked at his face, he ran his fingers over the growing stubble on his cheeks, and he ran his right index and middle finger along the stitches on his face. "Why do I do these things... To myself and to others...?" he asked hisself aloud.

He then removed his lab coat and grey thermal, setting them down on the couch just a few feet away to his right. He observed the stitches all over his body: the one that is on his right bicep, the one on his chest that goes from his left shoulder down to the right side of his mid-torso and the one that went from the right side of his mid- torso down to the left side of his lower- abdomen. "Am I still the same person I was when I was so young? Who am I now...?" he asked hisself under his breath. Although the closest thing to an answer he could get was right in front of him. He is Franken Stein, who else would, or could he be?

He continued to dwell in his thoughts and observe his abnormal flesh until he heard a rapid knock on his door. He checked his wrist watch again to confirm the time; It was indeed three a.m. Well, three fourty seven a.m. _I was lost in my thoughts for that long? That's the longest I've done that..._

"Hmm," he breathed out of his nose as he walked toward the door. It's not that he forgot to put his thermal back on, he just chose not to. He was still wearing his black pants anyway. He opened the heavy laboratory door to see none other than Marie Mjolnir, the Death Scythe watching over Oceania.

"Marie, hello. What are you doing here at this time of night?" Stein asked the short blond-haired woman in the black and yellow zig-zag skirt and black jacket. When Marie saw Stein towering over her in the door way, she gasped slightly and looked to the side with her one eye a bit.

"Um, hello, uh, Franken..." Marie mumbled.

"Is something wrong?" Stein asked, twisting the bolt going through his head until it made a small _'click'_.

"No, uh," she said, trying to look him in the eye instead of his bare, well-toned chest and abdomen and muscular biceps and shoulders... "Shinigami asked me to come back from Oceania and to teach here at the academy." Marie said, still trying to figure out where to set her wandering eyes.

"Hang on," Stein said, "give me a second." He turned, leaving the door open, and headed over to the couch where his thermal was. Marie watched through the doorway as Stein slipped his arms through the sleeves then raised his arms to slide the thermal down his head. As he did this, she watched every detail of how his shoulder blades and muscles moved through his skin as his arms raised and lowered. As Stein began to turn around, Marie averted her single eye.

"Now, why exactly are you here, Marie?" he asked as he gestured for her to come in while he pulled a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth. They both sat down on the couch, and Stein was holding a lit match to his cigarette. Right before it caught the flame, however, he noticed Marie's expression. It was as familiar as day, "Franken, you know I don't like it when you smoke..." So he shook the match and extinguished the flame, putting the cigarette back into his pocket.

Marie smiled and said, "Shinigami hasn't gotten me a place to live yet, so he told me to ask you if I could stay with you for a little while." A long pause followed, and Marie was not sure what to say. He was smiling, but not smirking, which is strange for Stein because he rarely ever smiled like that. Yet he wasn't saying anything at all, he was barely breathing for that matter, which only confused her. "I can go some where else if it's too much to ask... I'm sorry I bothered you." She said sadly as she turned and began walking toward the door. Then she felt a large, warm hand wrapped around hers, and she turned.

"No, stay. You can have the room down the hall. Or, you can stay in my room with me, if you'd like." Stein said and smirked and she gave him a strange look. He then laughed a bit and said, "I'm only kidding, Marie."

She still had a little of that strange look on her face, but it was soon dominated with a smile. Without even knowing how it happened, Stein found Marie with her arms wrapped around his waist. At first, he didn't know how to respond, but then decided to do what he saw other people do. He put his arms around her, gently yet firmly, and held her close. They stood there for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality, it was really only a minute or so.

Marie looked up to see Stein smiling down at her. It was that same, good-natured smile he had just a few moments ago. She blushed and turned her head down a bit. "Um," Stein mumbled, "I'll show you to your room, then I'll go out to get your bags." Stein had learned what he thought might be a new emotion: awkwardness.

"Oh, it's ok, you don't have to do that, Franken. Besides, I left them at the academy, I don't want you to go out of your way. The reason I left them there anyway was because I didn't know if-" Marie stopped talking as Stein put his finger against her lips.

"Marie, you're babbling. I'll show you to your room, and then I'll go get your bags."

"But-" She was cut off again.

"I will," he insisted.

Marie sighed then said, "Alright."

Stein gestured her to follow, and he led her to her room, turning on all of the lights while they walked down the hall. Although he was used to the dark, he knew she preferred the opposite. When he got to the door of the room, he pulled a key ring out of his pocket, took off one of the keys, unlocked and opened the door, then gave her the key.

He turned on the light and caught her expression at the room. For a moment he wondered what was wrong, then he figured it out. By his standards, this was a perfect room. Although, by her standards, this room was lacking every house touch. The walls were worn and grey and had stitches covering them, as were the bed and lamp. The dresser, desk and bedside table were black. There were not even any windows.

"I apologize if the room is too... Dark and... Uh... Creepy..." Stein muttered.

"No, no! It's fine." Marie said looking at him with her right eye, her eye patch covering the other.

"Well," Stein sighed, "I will go get your bags. Make yourself comfortable. Well, try to anyway..." He then looked around the room.

Marie smiled and said, "Thank you, Franken. I don't know where else I could really go if you were not here."

Stein looked her in the eye for a moment then nodded and left the room.

document here...


	2. Chapter 2

"Goodmorning, Marie." Stein said sipping some coffee as his new room mate walked into the dark- colored kitchen. Although Stein had drawn back the curtains and opened the kitched window so it would be bright enough for Marie.

"Goodmorning, Franken," Marie replied drowsily.

Stein noticed how she was dragging her feet across the tile, how she was slightly clumsy, and how she still smiled at him. "If you're hungry, I made some eggs and sausage, they're over there in that pan," he said as he gestured to a medium- sized dark grey pan on the stove behind him.

"Oh, thank you," she said, still smiling. She looked around the kitchen, trying to guess where the plates would be. She decided they would probably be in the cabinet on the upper right- hand side of the sink. She opened that cupboard and searched for plates and found a small stack of square white glass plates. _Of course, they would be on the top shelf..._ she thought to herself. Marie stood on her toes and reached as far as she could, but she still could not reach. She didn't even notice Stein towering over her until he easily reached his arm over her head and got a plate down. She turned around and she smiled at him as he handed her the plate. Stein then went back to the small round black wood table and sat down. Only after he left that spot did she realize how close they were, and she blushed, but Stein didn't seem to notice.

"So, what are you doing today, Marie?" Stein asked.

"Well, considering it's Saturday and I don't start teaching till Monday, I thought I'd go see some old friends that still live here." As she spoke, Stein took a long swig of some thick, black coffee. "Why don't you come with me?" she asked happily.

He chuckled a bit then said, "Oh, no. I imagine anyone would be uncomfertable with me in their home."

Marie was not the slightest bit puzzled over this, yet she asked anyway, "Why is that?"

Again, Stein laughed. "Well, look at me, Marie."

"What's wrong with you?" she asked, turning her head slightly.

"I'm tall, slender, I have a huge iron bolt coming in my left temple and out my right temple, and scars and stitches covering my body." he said casually.

Marie searched for a counter arguement, but Stein caught her before she could.

"It's ok, Marie. I know what... er, who... I am. I'm creepy. And if people want to avoid me for it, let them." he said reassuringly. Marie only looked down in a little sadness.

Stein stood and walked over to where she was standing, and then he put his large hands on her shoulders. "Really, Marie, it's ok. Don't worry about me... Now sit down and eat some breakfast so you can start your day." he said walking out of the kitchen to his computer.

About twenty minutes later, Marie walked in the living room. She looked to her left to see Stein at his computer, typing quickly. She watched for a brief moment then noticed that the computer wasn't even on. He was just staring at the blank screen while his long fingers flew over the keyboard.

"Franken?" Marie called. No answer. She slowly walked across the living room and out her hand on his shoulder. At the contact, Stein jumped in surprise.

"Oh, I didn't see you there, Marie." he said looking around the room.

"I was just coming to tell you that I'm going out now, I'll be back in a few hours." She said slowly.

Stein simply nodded then turned on the computer and began typing again. Marie turned and took a few steps toward the door, but something just didn't feel right. She turned around and was about to say that she changed her mind and was going to stay, but then she read the computer screen. It read: Who am I? What am I? Who am I? What am I? Who am I? What am I? over and over again...

"Franken, why don't you go get some rest?" Marie asked, but there was no response. "Franken!" she exclaimed.

Stein looked up at her, confused. "Yes, Marie, was there something you needed?" he asked casually.

She took his hand and said, "I think you should go lay down."

"Why? I'm fine, " he replied, turning his head back to the computer screen. Then he read all that he had typed.

"Please," Marie pleaded, lightly tugging on his hand, "Go get some rest."

There was a short pause, then Stein sighed, closed his eyes, removed his glasses and began walking toward his room. "I'll see you later, Marie." he said, holding two fingers up with his wrist tilted to the right a bit. Only after he disappeard into the hall did she start walking toward the door to leave.


	3. Chapter 3

Marie had been gone since ten a.m that morning and had just got back to the abnormally architechtured laboratory, it was almost five p.m. She felt kind of bad for leaving Stein alone for so long, but she remembered that he does live alone and enjoys it. She pulled open one of the heavy laboratoy doors and walked inside, holding a few shopping bags. "Franken, I'm home!" she called, setting the bags on the couch. There was no response. "Franken?"

"Marie, you're back," Stein said with a little sense of happieness in his smooth voice. She was startled in surprise at the sound of his voice."I take it you had fun?" he asked, gesturing to the purple and pink and green shopping bags on the couch.

"Oh yes, I was talking with Azusa at the cafe when LIz and Patti found me. They insisted we go shopping at this new clothing and beauty salon shop."

"It never seizes to astound me how women can spend, what, six hours in one shop and only get five bags of clothing and God knows what else," Stein laughed.

"Four hours actually. Afterward Liz and Patty insisted that we go see a new movie." Marie said as she began walking toward her room.

Stein followed her down the hall and smirked as he said, "Well you got my point." He watched Marie gasp as she slowly walked into her newly refurnished room. She turned around with a huge smile as Stein walked in to the room also. The walls were a bright sky blue color with clouds and the sun on one side and the moon painted on the other on the ceiling. The floor was no longer hard cement, it was plush white carpet. The dresser, desk and bedside table were forest green, and the bed was covered in memory foam and plush pink, purple and blue pillows. The bed comforter was white with black swirly lines all over it, and highlights of the same colors of the pillows lined the black swirls. There was even a large rectangular hole in the wall where a window would soon be.

"Franken... How did you..." Marie gasped.

"When you told me to go get some rest, I couldn't sleep and what I had typed on the computer was... disturbing me, so I decided to do something productive other than cut things open and take notes. To make sure it didn't look terrible, I copied this room out of a magazine." Stein said cooly. After a few moments and Marie still hadn't said anything, he was getting to be a bit worried. "It doesn't look terrible, does it?"

"No! Franken, it's beautiful!" she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a huge hug. He was a little startled by her reaction, there was so much emotion. Finally he put his hands on her back and held her close. It seemed as if every time they got close like this, something was about to happen, but he had no idea what.

She felt so warm, and he could feel her heart beating against his chest. Her scent of coconuts, strawberry and vanilla was beginning to fill his nose, and he began to feel... He was happy. _Why am I always this happy when I am with her like this?_ He closed his eyes and felt her completely relax in his arms. Marie began to remove her arms from his neck, but Stein pulled her even closer. She put her hands on his waist and gave him a questioning look. He stared back at her, and he finally knew what to do.

Stein removed one hand from her back and moved a lock of hair out of her face, then he stared into her one eye. Then he pulled her face to his, and their lips touched. This was the most blissful and most emotional thing he'd ever done, and surprisingly, was going well. Finally, Marie pulled back, and just stared at him in a bit of shock.

"I- I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that..." he muttered as he turned and began walking toward the door.

"No, uh, Franken, it's alright." Marie said as she took a small step toward him. "It's ok."

"But I'm... Starting to gain new emotions... And I don't know how to use them or when. It's like learning to read. There are so many different feelings and emotions and so many different situations to use them in, I don't understand... What is happening to me?" Stein hisself aloud slowly.

A few long moments passed, and he was starting to feel uncomfortable. _Feel. Uncomfortable._ It wasn't the same as physicaly feeling uncomfortable. This was in his mind, and he didn't know how to control it. Ever since Marie came back to Death City and was staying with him, he was feeling more and more, even if it had been only one day. Things in his mind were changing so fast, he was beginning to feel his own heartbeat. All of this was making him dizzy...

Stein held his hand up to his forehead and gasped, "Marie, I..." He took a moment to breathe, and finally he said, "I need some air." Then he stumbled out of the room and walked down the hall, using the walls for support. All of this... Emotion and... Her scent, that kiss, her warmth... It was too much to handle, and he didn't know how to deal with it at all. It was all racing through his head so rapidly that he didn't have time to think, or even breathe.

"Franken!" Marie gasped as she ran to the door way of her room.

"I'm-" He sucked in some air, but it seemed to be of no use to him. "I'm fine, Mar- Marie..." Then, Stein's eyes closed, his body went limp, and he collapsed. He hit the ground with a large thud.

"Franken! Oh my god, Franken!" Marie, who was now right by his side, cried. "Oh, Franken...Please, wake up..." she gasped, now holding Stein's cheeks. All she could do was sit there and cry. She put her head on his chest and listened to his heart beat. It was beating rapidly. No, it was slowing down... Slower... Slower... Slower... And it stopped. Stein's heart beat had stopped.


	4. Chapter 4

Marie's eyes opened wide and stared at nothing while she frantically tried to find any trace of a heart beat. She grabbed and felt his wrist; no pulse. She put two fingers on his neck below his jaw; no pulse. "Oh god, no... Franken... Please, wake up. Wake up!" Marie sobbed. She put her hands on his chest and began CPR, hoping, praying that it would work. It had to work, Stein could not die, not yet.

She stopped pumping, opened his mouth, and breathed into him. She did this a few times, then began pumping again, putting all of her weight into it. It seemed like she had been doing this forever, and when she checked his wrist and neck for a pulse, she felt no beat. Marie continued CPR, still hoping it would start Stein's heart beat back up. Soon, her arms were getting very tired and she could not breathe right, the atmosphere and the idea of losing him along with her endless tears were suffocating her.

A long while passed, and she began to breathe into him again. As she did this, She felt the air she was giving him trying to be sucked down. She sat up quickly and more tears continued to fall as she saw Stein's chest rise and his eyes slowly open as he inhaled.

"Oh my god, Franken. Thank God you are alive! I thought I had lost you..." She sobbed as she put her head on his chest and sobbed uncontrollably.

"Marie..." Stein said quietly as he put a hand on her head and stroked her long, strawberry blond hair. "Marie," he said again as his voice shook. He closed his eyes and just laid there with Marie crying so violently on his chest. He listened to her cries, not knowing what to say or do.

Finally she pulled her head up and put her hands on his cheeks while she stared at his face. Now she knew. Now she knew that she couldn't live without seeing this face. Others might avoid or even run from him, but she knew this man. She knew who he was, not just his name. While others only saw a freakishly tall, scarred and stitched man with a bolt going through his head, she saw a man who was her friend, who she now knew may even die for her. She saw a man who..._ No, I can't love him... Isn't love different? But then, here I am, crying my eyes out because I thought he was dead... So, maybe..._

"What are you thinking, Marie?" Stein asked slowly and quietly. She hadn't even noticed that while her eye was in full contact of his now open eyes, she was completely lost in her thoughts. _Should I tell him? But his heart just stopped because of too much overload, too many different alian things upon him. I can't tell him, not yet._

"I was just thinking about how it would be if I had lost you," she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "Oh, Franken..."

Stein tried to sit up, but his muscles seemed to weak to move much, and his lungs were aching from the lack of air for so long. Marie must have felt his abdomen tighten under his clothes when he tried to sit up because she put her hands on his arm and asked, "Do you need help up?"

Stein was quiet for a moment, inhaled deeply and said, "I shouldn't stand right now. I'm too weak too carry myself, and I am much too heavy for you to even help me walk."

"But aren't you uncomfortable on the hard floor?" Marie asked, her voice full of raw worry.

"I am, but I'll be ok," he answered truthfully.

"I'll go get a blanket and a pillow," she said as she stood and began walking down the hall and into Stein's room. She picked up his blanket and a pillow off of his bed. Marie came back down the hall to find Stein with his eyes closed, and at first she was terrified that he may have passed out again. But then she heard him breathe in, and she saw his chest rise. She exhaled in pure relief as she spread the blanket out over him and picked up his head, put the pillow underneath it, then laid it back down. Marie began to walk away, but something made her stop, and it told her to stay.

She turned around and looked down at Stein, thinking about if she should ever tell him that she loves him. What if something like this happened again? It seemed like there were much too many swirling emotions and new alian feelings going through his head, and he didn't know how to sort out or deal with what was going on, so maybe his brain just... decided to shut down. _But that's insane, how could that happen? _She thought. _Maybe he had a heart attack or a stroke... If so I should call the hospital. Of course! I need to call an ambulance! God, why am I so stupid at times?!_

Marie ran into the kitchen and found the phone sitting on the table. Her fingers were shaking violently as she dialed 911.

"911, what is your emergency?" the operator asked quickly.

"My room mate," Marie gasped, "He was completely fine one minute, then he started to have trouble breathing and then he collapsed. His heart beat even stopped..." She couldn't go on after that last sentance, she was already crying again and her voice was shaking.

"What is your location?" the operator asked.

"Uh, I can't think of the street name... It's the laboratory right next to the graveyard here in Death City." Marie said quickly.

"We will send an ambulance right away. Did you attempt CPR?"

"Yes, I got his heart beating again; He is alive." Marie gasped. _Oh, thank God he is alive!_

"Good, you did well." There was a sound of relief in the operator's voice. "Now what is his current location?"

"He's in the hall asleep. He tried to get up, but he couldn't. So I got him a pillow and blanket and let him rest."

"You need to keep him awake until the ambulance gets there. We don't want him to fall into a coma." the operator said quickly.

"Alright, I will." Marie said.

"The ambulance will be there shortly. You did well."

"Thank you..." she said quietly as she hung up the phone.

**Thanks to all my readers, I'm happy to know that some one is enjoying my story! Please leave a review, it encourages me a lot. And, if you have any ideas or if you want a character to be introduced, leave a comment and I will try to work something out. I will be uploading chapter 5 shortly. Thanks again! :) -Mikshizels**


	5. Chapter 5

Bright lights... beeping sounds... whatever he was laying on was jerking quite a lot. Stein turned his head to the side and it went limp as his eyes closed almost completely. He opened his eyes again and tried to figure out where he was, his head rolling around loosely.

"Franken," a familiar voice called. This voice... It was so smoothe, so quiet. And what was that? That thing clawing at the edges? Fear? Or worry? What ever it was, the voice was laced with it. Finally, Stein's eyes fell upon her.

"Marie," he said, his voice dry. "Where...?"

"We're in an ambulance, we're taking you to the hospital."

"What happened...?" he asked drowsily. But he didn't even have time to get an answer before he fell asleep again.

Stein woke up in an unfamiliar place. There was a bright light above him, a door a few feet ahead, a cabinet on the left, and a sleeping Marie next to it. At first he was completely confused, wondering where he was. Then he noticed the I.V in his left arm, and he connected the dots with the bright lights and beeping noises of monitors around him. He was in the hospital. He looked around for a button to press to call the nurse, but he couldn't find it. Well he didn't really have time to because she walked in as if on cue.

"Hello, Franken. How are you feeling?" She asked, she actually sounded concerned. She was a short woman with brown skin and a slight Italian accent.

"I'm not too sure..." he said, watching as she checked the monitors and recorded down the results on a clipboard. "What happened to me?"

The nurse had a small look of sadness on her face, but she erased it and looked up at him and said, "The doctor will be in shortly, he will tell you everything you want to know." Then she exited the room.

As the door shut, Marie's eye opened and she sat up a bit. She looked up and saw Stein looking back at her, and relief and happieness washed over her. "Oh, Franken!" she exclaimed as a tear rolled down her cheek.

Stein smiled at her, hoping it would make her feel better. He really did not understand her, especially now. She seemed so happy, yet she was crying. Weren't people supposed to cry when they were sad? _I really don't get this whole 'feeling' thing._ He thought as the door opened and the doctor walked in. He was almost as tall as Stein, had black hair and was cleanly shaven. He was even wearing a lab coat, but it was not covered in stitches. "Hello, Franken. I am Dr. Rosenthdal," he said as he read over his clipboard. "I suppose you'd like to know why you're here."

"It'd be a nice thing to know, yes. And call me Stein, if you don't mind." he said casually.

"Well, Stein," Dr. Rosenthdal made complete eye contact with him, "You had a stroke, which caused you to fall unconcious, then you had a heart attack. You're actually a very lucky man to be alive. If it were not for Miss Marie, you would not be here breathing." he said, gesturing to Marie as she blushed.

"What do you think caused the stroke and cardiac arrest?" Stein asked after giving Marie a gentle yet sincere 'thank you' look.

"Marie told me about how you reacted after you two made certain contact... Tell me, Stein, is it true that you never feel any emotion?" Dr. Rosenthdal asked curiously.

"Well, it's not completely true. I feel humor, and in some rare cases happieness. But other than that, I usually am very monotone. Why do you ask?"

"My guess is the reason of your stroke was caused by too much brain activity at once. As you told Marie, what you were experiencing was like trying to learn to read, only your brain was so hard at work to figure everything out that it went into insane over-drive, and 'snap'." The doctor said, snapping his fingers.

Stein took a moment to understand the doctor's words, he was still drowsy. Then he finally asked, "And the heart attack?"

"Too much stress along with your brain freaking out."

"So, what exactly was the worst that happened?" Stein asked slowly.

The doctor hesitated, then he spoke. "Your heart stopped beating, Stein. For about five minutes, actually. Which is why I said you are very lucky to be alive." Dr. Rosenthdal said slowly.

Stein took a few moments to grasp and comprehend what he had just heard before nodding quickly and shortly. The doctor noted the monitors around his patient, then he checked his wrist watch. "Ah, I should get to my other patients. I will be back in to check up on you later on today." he said as he nodded to Stein and Marie, making eye contact with both of them.

Stein took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Then he felt warmth on his left arm. He looked over to see Marie holding his forearm, her cheek bone against her hands. Then he felt hot tears, Marie's tears, rolling down his arm. Oh how he hated to see her cry, especially over him. Stein reached over and stroked her hair with his right hand.

Her hair... It was so soft, and her scent was so sweet. "Oh, Marie... Don't cry. I will be okay, thanks to you. You saved my life," he said smoothly and quietly.

"But then if it weren't for me, you still woudn't be here. I should have not come to you, I should have tried to stay with Azusa or some one else. I-" she was cut off by Stein's stern voice.

"Marie. You're babbling again," Stein said and Marie looked up at him questioningly to see a smile spread across his face. "Listen to me," he continued. "If it were not for you, I would not have actually learned what it felt like to be happy. Or what sadness is, or awkwardness. You're right, if it were not for you, I would not be here in this hospital bed. But I think the fact that I've learned something that I never thought I'd learn is a very important thing in my life. So I think me laying in a hospital bed is most definatelty worth it."

"I understand what you mean by awkwardness, but why sadness? Did I do something wrong or did I upset you?" she asked, her voice beginning to shake.

"No, you did nothing wrong."

"Then why were you sad?" Confusion was written all over her face.

"The thing that made me so sad, Marie," he paused and reached his left hand up, putting it on her cheek, then continued, "was seeing your tears fall so much."

Marie sat there for a few moments, wondering what to do._ Should I tell him...?_

"What are you thinking of?" he asked quietly.

"I was thinking... I think..."

"You think...?" he asked, slightly turning his head.

"I... Love you," she said slowly.

Stein didn't really take much time to try to understand what she had said, which was odd to her. "I know you do, Marie. I was just wondering if I feel the same. It's so frustrating, I don't know what emotion is what, and I am no where near figuring out how to understand those emotions, let alone express them..." There was a long pause. _Should I tell her what has been going on with me? Should I tell her that I have been slipping out of reality? But I think she has some sort of idea of this happening, I'm pretty sure she read what I typed on the computer... But then, why did she still tell me she loves me...? You'd think she'd be too creeped out by now and had left somewhere else already. And yet, here she is, sitting by my bedside, telling me she loves me... _

**Please leave your reviews, comments and suggestions, they help me out a lot! I'm not too sure when I will be adding chapter 6, so I apologize if it is a long wait. This whole story writing thing can be a real headache after a while! But I suppose it's better than doing nothing, especially when you run out of art paper :P But anyway, thanks for reading, it means a lot to me! :) -Mikshizels**


	6. Chapter 6

Marie only stared at Stein in confusion. "So, you're saying that the madness has been living inside you... Your whole life?"

Stein tried to chose his words carefully, he didn't want Marie to start crying again. "Yes, but I've been keeping control of it, so it doesn't consume me at all." At that, Marie did not seem as worried, but Stein continued, "However," and her worry was then all over her face once more, "For the past couple of days, I have been... Seeing things, hearing things, even typing things that I don't want to type. It's like the madness is growing..." Stein trailed off.

"What do you mean by 'seeing things'?" Marie asked curiously.

Stein thought for a moment, trying to tell her what exactly he had been seeing without her freaking out. "Seeing things like... Spiders crawling on the walls, snakes coming out from underneathe my bed. At first, they look real, but when I take a closer look at them, they are grinning at me." he said, remembering how the spiders' and sankes' grins went from right below their eyes, down all the way to the bottom of their heads and up to the other side of their face.

Marie was silent for a moment, and he could tell she was trying not to cry._ Seriously, what is up with women and all of their crying? Or is it simply emotion over flooding?_ he thought. _Maybe I am happy that I don't feel that much emotion._

"And hearing things?" she asked slowly. "What do you hear, Franken?"

He was only quiet, not saying anything. Stein reached his left arm up to his head, ignoring the strange feeling of the I.V tugging and moving slightly as it was pulled, and he began to twist the bolt in his head backward until it made a small _'click'_. Marie sat silently, barely moving, waiting for Stein to tell her what he hears.

"Whispers. I hear the whispers. They are always calling my name, always trying to get me to talk to them. But I always refuse. Well, I did always refuse, anyway..." Stein said, waiting for her to say something. When he knew she wouldn't say anything, he continued. "When I was laying here asleep, they came to me in my dreams. I can't remember anything about my dream, only that it had something to do with a river, and I was falling. Then they came. I heard so many different whispers, all of them saying different things. But I knew what they all wanted. They want the other side of me. They want me to completely get rid of the man I am now, and succumb to the madness. The worst part of it all is... I know how to. I know that if I just close my eyes and open my mind, let all of the whispers in, I could do it... I could end all of this torture. I could be the beast sleeping inside of me! What is the point in denying who I am deep down inside?!" Stein's voice was now raised slightly, and he was speaking quickly. His heart was beating so rapidly, he could feel it pounding in his chest.

His eyes darted across the room, focusing on one spot then on another. "What do you see? Franken, what do you see?" Marie asked quickly, trying to find what ever he was seeing.

"Oh, Marie. They are here!" Stein exclaimed. Marie stood from the chair she was in and took a step back, trying to keep her distancefrom him. Stein gave out a small giggle before his eyes rolled back and he passed out.

Marie only stared at him in shock, not knowing what to do. She wanted to scream at what she had just saw, but she knew that would be stupid. Furthermore, her throat was so dry, and it felt as if it were closing up. She was stuck in place, she couldn't move. All she could do was stand there and watch as the man she... Loved... was laying in a hospital bed, coming in and out of reality. _I need to stay strong for him..._ And finally, her legs unlocked and she bolted out the dooor and down the hall to find a nurse or a doctor, or anyone that would be able to help. One of the nurses saw her running down the hall, worried that one of the pateients had passed away. "Is there something you needed?" the nurse called after Marie.

Marie turned around, startled by the nurse's voice, and cried, "Yes," after catching her breath. "The man that I'm with, Franken Stein, he's a patient here-"

"Take me to him, okay? You can tell me everything once we get there." the nurse cut her off. Marie nodded quickly and gestured her to follow her as she began running back to Stein's room.

The nurse checked the monitors around Stein, making sure every thing was in order. "His heart beat is normal, although he does seem to be under some stress. So what exactly happened?" she asked.

Marie shook her head in confusion, her lip curled, trying to figure out _what_ exactly had happened. "I don't know, he was just telling me... Telling me how he sees things sometimes," _I shouldn't tell her everything... They might commit him to a psych ward._

The nurse's face was stricken with seriousness and pure curiosity as she asked, "What types of things?"

Marie was silent for a moment as she tried to figure out what, no, what _not_ was much more important. "I don't know, I think he was just hallucinating because he told me this after he woke up here. I think the stroke is just messing with his mind..._ I hope I don't regret this later..._ But he said he sees spiders crawiling on the walls and snakes coming out from underneathe his bed."

"Snakes and spiders, huh," the nurse said quietly as she studied Stein's face. "Pardon me for asking, but I've heard a few comments here and there of a man with stitches all over his body and a huge iron bolt going through his head." the nurse said with a small smile at the dge of her lips.

Marie only stared back at her with confusion all over her face.

"So my question is, how has he managed to survive that bolt going through his head?" she asked curiously.

Marie thought for a moment, and didn't really have an answer. It has crossed her mind here and there, but she never really thought about it. "Huh, I don't really know. To be honest, I almost forgot it was even there."


	7. Chapter 7

"Franken, did you take your meds?" Marie called from the kitchen as she stirred a pot of beef vegetable soup. "Franken," she called again, drawing out the 'a' and 'e' of his name. "Don't make me force you to take them!"

"Uggghhhh," said a very tired and groggy Stein. His feet dragged across the kitchen tile, and he bumped his shoulder against the wall as he opened the refridgerator. He exhaled loudly and dramatically through his nose as he turned the bolt in his head. He turned his head over to see Marie giggling at his behavior and apperance. He needed to shave, and his loose- fitting white t-shirt needed to be washed. His glasses were even crooked and his hair was a complete mess. As for his behaviour, he had been acting like a child ever since Marie brought him back from the hospital a week ago. "I don't wanna!" Stein said pouting, which only made it harder for Marie to supress her giggle fit.

"Take your meds now, or I swear I will force feed you!" she said and threw a slice of a carrot at him. The carrot bounced off of his face and landed on the floor, his eyes following it as it rolled over to a shoe. No, not only a shoe, a leg, a body... And of course, a red head. "Hey, Spirit! I was just telling your big baby of a meister here to take his medication."

"Oh yes," Spirit said, "Here is the great meister, the most powerful man to ever graduate from the Lord Death's academy!"

Marie's face was now beginning to turn red from trying to stop herself from laughing so much.

"And oh, here he is," Spirit continued dramatically, one hand to his chest, the other raised poetically, "Being forced to take his medications by the _evil _Marie Mjolnir. How will he _ever_ escape this terrible fate?" he asked, the pitch in his voice getting higher as he concluded.

"Yeah, you're laughing now, but just wait another week or two from now, and I'll kick your ass!" Stein said smirking. He pulled a bottle of water out of the refridgerator, then two bottles half- filled with pills from the counter next to Marie.

Stein opened the water bottle, then both of the two med bottles. He shook out one pill from the first bottle, then two from the second bottle. He popped all three of the pills into his mouth and swallowed it down with the water.

"Now that's a good boy," Marie said with a cute smile on her face as she patted Stein on the head lightly. He only stared out the kitchen window.

"You know, Stein, it's kinda wierd seeing you in something that doesn't have stitches all over it," Spirit said as he observed Stein's plain white t-shirt for a brief moment. He put his hands on his pockets and leaned to the right a bit until he was resting up against a wall.

Stein looked down and finally noticed how bare his shirt was. He looked up and gave Marie a questioning look, as if he were asking if looked any different without all of the stitches.

"You look fine, Franken," she said reassuringly as she added some chopped green bell peppers to the soup. "Spirit, would you like to stay for dinner?" she asked turning her head to the red head.

"Oh, no thanks, Marie. I've got to meet with Shinigami in a little while. By the way, Stein, Shinigami said that he wants you to stay home from class for the next week, and to feel better soon because the students miss you oh so dearly!" Spirit said, raising his dramatic act at the end of his sentance.

"I'm sure they do... So who has been substituting for me, anyway?"

"I have." Spirit said dryly.

"I bet Maka enjoys that a lot." Stein said as he smirked lightly.

"Hell ya she does, you should have seen her face when I walked in to class Monday morning! And Soul was practically jumping up and down in his seat and yelling because he was so happy! I bet your students don't greet you like that. Huh? Do they, Stein?!" Spirit exclaimed as he paced back and forth a few feet from where he was previously standing.

"No," Stein said as he twisted the bolt in his head, "they don't."

At that, Spirit began doing a little victory dance. "They also don't throw a bunch of trash at me and respect me." Stein continued.

The happy dance stopped. "EEEEEHHHHHHHHHH!" Spirit whined.

"And you said I was acting like a child...?" Stein asked Marie quietly.

"MY MAKA DOESN'T RESPECT MEEEEE! WHAT AM I GOING TO DOOOOO?!" Spirit continued to whine.

"Spirit-" Stein tried to say before Spirit cut him off.

"MY MAKAAAAAAA!"

"Spirit, shut up. You're giving me a head-"

"MAAAAAAKKKKKAAAAAAAAA!"

Then all was silent as Spirit was face down on the floor in the living room. "I told you to shut up," Stein said, his voice sounded heavy, and suddenly seemed exhausted. He was still leaning forward, with one leg in front of him and bent, and his hand that he used to unleash his soul was still twisted to the left and was slowly walked over to Spirit, and he reached his hand out as Spirit rolled over and sat up, waiting for him to take it so he could help his weapon up.

"So you had to hit me with your soul wavelength?!" Spirit exclaimed while he rolled his shoulders and dusted himself off. "Woah, Stein. You ok?" he asked after he noticed how Stein's head was down and his eyelids were drooping.

"Yeah, I should probably just go..." he inhaled and exhaled lightly then continued, "go lie down." Stein patted his friend on the shoulder then began walking toward the hall. "I'll see you later, Spirit."

"See ya, Stein." Spirit said before he went back into the kitchen and joined with Marie.


	8. Chapter 8

Stein slowly dragged his tall, slender body into his room, welcoming the cold comfort of the dark. He fell into his bed face-first, not even bothering to grab a pillow or cover up with the blanket. All he wanted was sleep. But he was sleeping so much lately, and he would have dreams every so often..._ I shouldn't think about those dreams so much. The more I think about it, the more likely it is for me to slip and take a step closer to the madness... _

Then Stein rolled over onto his back so he could breathe better, and crawled up to the head of the bed and buried himself in the blanket and pillows. _It really is amazing how the mind can do so many things. Without it, we can't survive. But with it, we may as well be dead. _

Stein began to drift into sleep, his conciousness becoming weaker and weaker. Everything was silent, dark, peaceful. Everything that he wanted wrapped up in to one, and it was all his. The last thing he thought of before falling asleep was Marie. How her sweet voice is similar to a bird's chirp, how crystals dropped from her eyes everytime she saw him in pain or distress, how she was and is by his side, even if he is getting closer to insanity. She was so... So... He couldn't even think of a word to describe her perfectly before sleep over took him, and he was at peace. Even if it was just a couple of hours, Stein was experiencing something he wanted for a while now: peace.

"Oh, Franken," Marie said under her breath as she walked in to Stein's room holding a tray with a steaming bowl of beef vegetable soup, two bottles of pills, a bottle of water, and a glass of milk. She set the tray down on the black bedside table and sat down on the bed next to the sleeping Stein. "Wake up," she said soothingly as she pushed the hair out of Stein's face. "Come on, Franken, wake up."

Stein's eyes slowly opened; The first thing he saw was Maire's face. He reached his hand up to her face and held her cheek in his palm while his thumb gently brushed over her skin, then her eye patch. "I wonder..." his voice was very dry and hoarse.

"You wonder what?"

"I wonder... If I could fix your eye..." Stein said. His eyes never left her eye patch.

Marie seemed surprised at what he had said. Sure, the thought had crossed her mind once or twice, but she never really paid much mind to it because she had learned to accept that she would never see out of her left eye again long ago. Plus, no one had ever been able to put a real eye in some one's head _and_ make it where that person could see clearly out of it. But then, this was Stein she was thinking about. If he wanted to do something that involved cutting and looking at the insides of any body, he could do it. "Do you think you could...?" she asked with a slight amount of amazement at the edge of her voice.

Stein thought for a moment, the entire while he stared into her one eye. "Perhaps... I would have to run several tests, though. Maybe I can start the test soon."

"Franken, if you could, I would never be able to repay you..." her voice trailed off.

"No, Marie. It would be me repaying you."

"What do you mean?"

"You are doing so much for me. You make dinner for me, you help me get across the house if I need it. You even got my heart to beat again after it had stopped for minutes." Stein said slowly.

"I do all of those things for you because I care for you, Franken."

"But why...? According to every one else, I'm that creepy mad scientist that dissects everything and lives in the laboratory right next to the graveyard."

"But you're not that to me." Marie stated stubbornly.

"What else could I be, Marie?"

"You're my friend, Franken. You have no idea how much you mean to me. With out you... I may as well be dead..." she said the last part of her sentance rather quietly.

Stein continued his gaze into her eyes for a moment more, then he closed his eyes. He inhaled deeply through his nose and Marie's scent filled his nostrils. And then he was able to smell his own self. _Damn. How does she manage to be around me with out plugging her nose? _

"Now, Franken, eat your soup and take your pills. And, think of taking a shower," Marie said with a cute smile on her face. Then she patted his hand, and she exited his room.

**Hey guys, I know this chapter was short, so I apologize. But I got some new art paper so I was finally able to continue my drawings! :D If you have any ideas for the story, PLEASE leave them in a review. I need some ideas, so feel free to put any and all of yours! I will have chapter 8 up in at least the next two days (today is July 20th) so write down your ideas for the story fast! Thanks for reading :) -Mikshizels **


	9. Chapter 9

That shower had been the most refreshing shower Stein had ever taken. Sure, before he willed himself to drag his pale body under the steaming hot water, he only wanted to lay in bed and sleep for the rest of his life. But now that he was there, he wanted to stay there until he grew gills. _That would be interesting._ The warm water was so relaxing and comforting. All he could hear was the water splash on the tile floor and the sounds the drain made when water fell in to it. He thought about several different things while he was bathing, things of life, death, what seperates the human brain from an animal's. And of course, he thought of Marie.

_Why hasne't she left yet? Does she not fear me? The human brain really is quite amazing... If it feels or sees anything alian, it fears it. Sometimes it even feels threatened. So why hasn't Marie left yet? Even when the madness started to take me when I was in the hospital, a small part of me was still there. I saw the fear in her eyes. She wanted to run, to scream. She was afraid of me... We both know that it is very likely my madness will grow, so that means I will lose myself much more. I will do things that I don't want to do. I could hurt her. I could just pick up a knife and cut her open when she is sleeping! Or I could- NO! It's already starting... I can feel it. Oh, God! Why is this happening to me?! _

Stein slid down the wall of the shower until he was sitting on the floor. He didn't want to lose himself, not now, not ever. He couldn't. _I can't lose myself. For Marie, I can't lose myself. I know I don't understand the first thing about love, and I know I don't understand how some one's heart could break, but I have heard of some people actually _dying_ because of heart break. If something happened to me, what would happen to her? She cried the entire time I was in the hospital, even though she knew I would be ok. And when I woke up after she saved me, I thought she would never stop crying... If I succumbed to the madness and I hurt her, God knows what will happen to her. I've heard my students talking about who so ever broke up with them- I think that's what they called it- and how they wanted to just die. Wait... Would she? She may cry a lot, but she still is a strong woman. But still... According to every one else, that heart break is the worst pain in the world. Would Marie kill herself over me? _

Stein stopped thinking about that, he felt as if it were making his stomach upset. But when he did think of Marie that much, he could barely feel the madness. Usually, he could always feel it at the back of his head, clawing, biting it's way to the surface. But when he was around Marie, it was supressed greatly. Although, it was still there...

"Franken, are you alright?" Marie called from the other side of the bathroom door.

"Yes, I'm fine. Why?"

"You've been in there for almost two hours," she said. She could hear metal clicking and she knew Stein was adjusting the bolt in his head.

"I'll be out in a few minutes."

Marie nodded then remembered that he couldn't hear her. "Ok, I'll be in my bedroom."

Stein stood up and stayed under the water for just a little while longer until he finally turned the shower knob and the water stopped coming down. He shook his hair out and grabbed a towel a few feet across from the shower door, then he stepped out and walked over to the mirror. He used his towel to wipe off the millions of miniscule water droplets from the mirror, then he wrapped it around his hips. He shook his hair out again, then he observed his face. Before he had dark shadows around his eyes, and his hair was oily. Now the dark shadows were gone, and his hair felt much better. All he had to do now was shave the growing stubble off of his face. _I'm surprised I haven't gone in to a nicotine fit yet._ He hadn't even cared for cigarettes before he got in to the shower. But now that he had thought about cigarettes, he wanted one. Badly.

_But I really need to shave..._ He quickly lathered cream all over his jaw and upper lip, then picked up his razor. He slid the blade across his skin so quickly that if anyone else were to shave with that speed, they would cut and nick their skin so many times that thier face would be dripping with blood. However, because Stein had performed so many dissections, he could do anything with complete ease perfectly so long as it involved a blade and skin.

About twenty seconds later, he dropped his razor on the counter then rushed in to his bedroom. He searched all of the drawers of his dresser and desk, then he ran in to the living when he couldn't find them. He picked up loose papers from his computer desk, then he checked underneathe the desk. Still no cigarettes. Then he rushed to the couch and checked under there, and he still couldn't find them. He stood up to remove all of the cushions, but he had to bend over quite a lot because he was so tall. He threw the cushions behind him and dug his hands deep inside the couch, searching for a small box. Even so, they weren't there. Stein sighed in frustration and ran back to his room.

_They have to be in here somewhere..._ He searched through his dresser and desk again, hoping that he may have missed the cigarettes earlier. But of course, they were not there. "God damn it!" he shouted.

"Are you ok?" Marie called from her bedroom with concern laced in her voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Stein sighed again in frustration. Just when he thought he was feeling better, this happens! He angrily looked around the room until his eyes fell upon his lab coat sitting on the floor in a corner. He took very long strides to the other side of the room- two to be exact- and he dropped to his knees and frantically searched through the coat pockets. Finally, his hand brushed against the cigarette box and matches. Stein wrapped his long fingers around the cigarette carton and match box and pulled them out. He ripped the box open and tore a cigarette out and put it in his mouth as he lit a match and held the flame under the cigarette. Once it started smoking, he inhaled deeply then released the smoke through his nose.

Stein sighed in relief, everything felt right. The madness was pushed far back, Marie was just down the hall, he didn't feel nearly as bad as when he did before he showered, and he had a smoking cigarette in his mouth. _I really should go outside. Marie hates it when I smoke, I'm sure she wouldn't want the smell of it in the house._ Stein stood and went to his closet to find some pants, black of course, and he left his room without putting anything on his well-toned body. He came in the living room, sat down on his office chair so his chest was resting up against the back of the chair, then reached his leg out and kicked backward. He slowly rolled outside on to the front porch, then got up and sat in the chair correctly. He leaned back and put his arms behind his head, then he put his left leg over his right leg so his ankle was resting on his knee.

This was peaceful.


	10. Chapter 10

The breeze was lightly blowing through his hair, and it was carressing his bare torso. He inhaled deeply, the fresh air felt good in his lungs. Then the door of the laboratory opened and Marie stepped out. She looked a bit surprised by what, no, what he was _not_ wearing. But she still didn't react the same way as when she first came to his door a few weeks ago. "Oh hi, Franken." she said with a smile.

Stein looked up at her and smiled back. Yes, he actually smiled because he was happy to have her company. "What's up, Marie?" he said casually.

"I was just coming out to get some fresh air. Care if I join you?"

"No, please. Sit."

Marie looked around for a chair, but she couldn't find one. "I'll just go get a chair," She said as she began to walk toward the door.

Stein sat up, grabbed her arm and pulled her down on his lap. "You can sit here," he said with a smile.

Marie was a little shocked by this, but she soon relaxed and leaned against his bare chest. Although, Stein still hadn't finished his cigarette yet, and the smoke was starting to get to her. Marie was coughing, but she was trying to supress it. She didn't want Stein to notice because then she would have to get up. But he did notice.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Marie," Stein mumbled. He sat up, took one more drag from the cigarette, then he took it from his mouth, dropped it to the floor, and crushed it with his boot as smoke blew out from his lips.

Marie smiled at him again and put her head on his shoulder. She could hear his heart beat; it was one of the best sounds she could ever hear. Stein buried his face in her neck, smelling her sweet scent of coconuts, strawberries and vanilla. He closed his eyes and just embraced in her. Her mere company could already make his day better. But moments like this were what really made him want to fight against the madness with all of his strength.

But what made up his strength? Was it more psychological than physical? _She is my strength... Marie..._ Stein wrapped his arms around her, his left hand gripping his right forearm. He just sat there with his face buried in her neck and hair, embracing the moment. _How is it just a few weeks ago, I wouldn't be able to do this simply because I thought it unnecessary? And now, I find this so much better than just sitting alone in the dark all day typing notes. It's even almost better than dissections..._

Marie had not moved sice she put her head on his shoulder, and she was breathing lightly. _Did she fall asleep?_ Stein wondered. He actually really hoped she did for some reason. He looked into her soul, and he noted how calm it was. There were no random spikes, nothing to confuse it. Marie's soul was so simple yet complicated at that point. She was very relaxed, so her soul was too. It even seemed sleepy. But it was also filled with happieness, and a lot of something he could not decipher. Although it was familiar, he had seen it a few times in his students' and colleagues' souls. _Wait, is that love? She has told me that she loves me, but I never would have thought it was that much... And there is no fear. You would think that there would be just a miniscule amount at least, but there isn't... Just love and happieness. Is it possible that I am the reason she feels like this?_

Stein inhaled deeply and continued to keep his eyes closed. Soon, he drifted off in to a light sleep. For the past week he had only been sleeping, but he never really seemed to find the rest he wanted. However, something about this small nap was like a cure for a disease to him. It was so perfect, having Marie in his arms while he slept.

"Umm... Should we wake them...?" Maka Albarn asked her weapon.

"Nah, let them be." Soul Eater Evans said calmly.

Then Black Star walked up to them, totally shocked by what he was seeing. "Who would have guessed that Professor Stein and Marie would be a thing?"

Tsubaki, Black Star's weapon, was right by his side as she said, "Aww that is so cute!"

"Cute?!" Black Star exclaimed. "The creepy professor that likes to dissect everything is shirtless holding our other teacher."

Maka studied Marie and Stein for a few seconds. "What are you thinking, Maka?" Soul asked curiously.

Maka smiled and turned her head to Soul and said, "I was just remembering the time when we were watching Sweeney Todd late at night, and we both fell asleep."

Soul's lips curved in to a cute smile as he said, "And I woke up the next morning with you laying on my chest... And a drool line was coming down from your mouth." He began to laugh at that memory.

"I did not!" Maka exclaimed.

"Whaaatever. Any way where's Crona?" Soul asked while he looked around.

"Uhh, back here," the scrawny boy with pink hair and small voice said. He began walking closer to Maka, then stopped when Marie's amber eyes fluttered open, and she looked up to she her five students. She smiled at all of them and leaned forward a bit, then she realized what was going on. _Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god... I fell asleep in his lap... And he's shirtless! Then he fell asleep. And holy crap my students are witnessing this! Ohhh what do I do?!_

"Um, hi kids," Marie said with a smile. At the sound of her voice, Stein's eyes slowly opened, but he didn't notice the five students. He inhaled and exhaled then lightly kissed her neck.

Marie's skin almost had goosebumps when he kissed her. She also noticed all of her student's expressions when they saw that. Maka, Soul, Black Star and Crona all were completely shocked and their jaws hung open while Tsubaki had her hands folded over her chest with a huge "Awwww" escaping from her. That 'Awww' was also plastered all over her face.

"Uh, Franken... Some of our students are here," Marie said quietly.

Stein's eyes widened slightly and they flew up to the kids. At first, he thought he felt... What was that? Embarressment maybe? But he decided he just do what he heard several other people say, _Play it cool. Yeah, that's what they call it._ Stein lifted his head and sat straight up and loosened his grip a bit on Marie, but he never let go completely. "Hey, Maka and Soul, Black Star and Tsubaki, Crona. What's up?" _I must say, their expressions really are funny._

"Uhmm... We were just coming by to say 'Hi' and to see how you're doing." Maka said. She was clearly trying to not stare at all of the stitches covering his muscular body.

Stein chuckled a bit at how she was acting, then he said, "Well hi. I am doing much better, thanks."

Marie was now feeling very awkward. Stein could see it in her soul, and he only thought that was even funnier. "Is something wrong, Marie?"

Marie only stared at Stein, then at the five students. "No, uh..." He could feel her weight lift slightly as well as her leaning forward, and he knew she was trying to stand up. Marie looked back at him again with a confused look on her face. He tightened his hold on her for just a little while longer until he finally dropped his arms, and she stood.

"How would you kids like to come inside for tea?" She asked quickly.

"Only if we were not interrupting something," Tsubaki said happily.

"Tsubaki!" Maka, Soul and Black Star exclaimed. Crona only stood in the same spot and held his arm.

Marie laughed a little and said, "Oh no, you're not. Come on inside, that is if it's okay with you, Franken."

Stein only shrugged and stood from his chair. Maka's eyes widened very slightly as she observed Stein's bare torso. _Who would have thought Professor Stein had a body that well toned? Sure, he's pretty strong and powerful, but he always looks so slender under that turtleneck and lab coat... He even has stitches all over his body._

"Maka?" Soul asked his meister. "You coming?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure." she said, allowing her gaze to tear away from Stein._ I hope no one noticed me staring at him..._ she thought before she ran inside after the others.

**Well I must say chapter 10 was pretty interesting to write. Hahahaha it was fun making Stein acting in a way that he never really has before, yet in his own way. Please leave your reviews, the only reason why I'm writing this fanfic is because I hope some people are enjoying it so far. Thank you SO much to the people who have been keeping up with my story, it really does mean a lot to me! :D -Mikshizels**


	11. Chapter 11

Maka, Soul, Black Star, Tsubaki and Crona all sat in the large house/laboratory sipping tea with Marie. Most of the students preffered black tea with lemon, but Crona and Tsubaki wanted mint. After they had been sitting there for five minutes and no one had said anything yet, Marie looked up from her tea cup and studied her surroundings, looking for something to say. "Franken, don't you think you should put your shirt on?" _Are. You. Freaking. Serious?! Of all the things I could say, I say that?! Ughh just shoot me in the face..._

All of the students looked to the left to see Stein simply enjoying his coffee; he always preffered coffee over tea. He didn't even seem to notice the awkward atmosphere, or the fact that he was sitting shirtless caused everyone -even Marie- to feel uncomfortable. Stein adjusted the bolt in his head for a few long seconds and looked down at his bare chest and abdomen. He looked back up and nodded once then left to his room.

"So, how is Professor Stein doing?" Tsubaki asked.

"Well for the past week, he's only wanted to sleep. I had to wake him up every couple of hours so he could eat and take his meds. Maka, your father came by earlier." Marie said, her lips curving up a little at the corners. She could already barely hear Stein's heavy footsteps coming back down the hall.

"Let me guess, Papa wouldn't shut up about how I don't love him and it was irritaing the professor, so he blasted him across the house," Maka replied.

"Damn right, I did," Stein said, now he had a smirk on his face. "That little-" he was cut off by Marie clearing her thraot loudly. Stein stopped and remembered that his students were sitting right in front of him, so he chose better words. "Let's just say, Maka, your daddy learned how to fly today."

Maka, Soul and Black Star all started to laugh, but Tsubaki and Crona only sat their with 'oh my god whyyyy' written all over their faces.

After he had finished laughing Soul asked, "So I take it you're feeling better, Professor Stein?"

"Oh yes, very much so. I spent about two hours in the shower today and then went outside to enjoy a cigarette. To be honest, I'm kind of surprised how just this morning, I only wanted to sleep but now am feeling... better. A lot better..." Stein said as his voice trailed off and he began to think. _I wonder if by saying "I feel better," one could mean both pysically and psychologically. _

"Well I am glad to hear that," Maka said happily. "Everyone at the academy has been worried about you."

When she said that, something small flared up in Stein's chest. _What is that? Why do I feel like saying "Thank you"? It seems like I am happy by what Maka said. _"Really?"

"Yeah. Honestly, class is really boring without your fighting lessons in the middle of class and you throwing scalpels at students' desks, swearing that if they didn't shut up, next time you wouldn't miss." Maka giggled as Stein smirked.

Marie only sat back in her chair with her jaw hanging open slightly and her tea cup raised half way between her mouth and chest.

"Is something wrong, Marie?" Stein asked as he turned his head slightly to the left, although he knew exactly what her deal was.

"You throw knives at the students?!" Marie asked in shock.

"No, I throw _scalpels_." Stein stated.

"What ever. You throw scalpels at students; you shouldn't do that, Franken."

"Who said I threw them at them? I throw them at their desks." Stein smiled and chuckled a little, he knew she was trying not to laugh.

"Well, I need to go for just a moment. I'll be back in a minute," Marie said with a smile on her face as she set her cup down on the coffee table. After she had left, everyone had started talking about how Ox had challegned Soul to a fight because he thought he had cheated on a test, which he didn't. Soul had been laughing so hard about how he had turned his arm in to a blade then cut Ox's belt, causing his pants to fall down right in the middle of class. However, his clear memory and vivid explanation caused Soul's arm to turn in to a blade, and it cut Crona's arm, black blood dripping all over his clothes.

Stein stood up quickly and took one large stride around the coffee table to the demon swardsman. "Come on, that will need to be stitched," he said quickly and escorted Crona to a small den that was part of the living room. Although Stein had grabbed the boy's arm tightly to try to not let any blood spill all over the floor, a small drop landed in his coffee cup without him noticing.

"Crona, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that!" Soul exclaimed as Stein took Crona to get his wound stitched. Crona only looked back at Soul and smiled a little as he said, "I know yoou didn't mean to, it's ok."

As Stein pulled the needle and thread in and out of Crona's flesh, he observed how to black blood had never hardened. "Crona, why didn't Ragnarok harden the black blood to stop you from bleeding?"

"He tried to," Crona said nervously,"but he couldn't. It seems like ever since I joined the academy and got away from Lady Medusa, the black blood hasn't been able to harden."

"Do you still feel the madness in your soul?"

"Yes, which is what I don't understand. You'd think that since the black blood had lost it's ability to harden, then the madness that comes with it would go too."

"What the hell happened?!" Crona jumped as he heard Marie scream and walk in to the small den that Stein used as a personal clinic.

"Soul accidently turned his arm in to a scythe and cut Crona." Stein stated simply.

"Really, I didn't mean to. It was an accident and I feel terrible about it." Soul pleaded.

Marie turned around to see Soul standing straight up with his feet spread slightly. "Oh, Soul. It's alright." she said with a sympathetic smile. _Ohh so much can happen in one day..._ Marie thought.

"Alright, you're all set. Come back to me in a few days so I can make sure there is no infection." Stein said as he cut the stitching thread and kicked his leg lightly so his chair would wheel to a small desk where he put all of his stitching and operation supplies.

"I will. Thanks, Professor Stein," Crona said with his small voice.

"Oh, and Soul?" Stein said as he stood up.

Soul had began walking back in to the living room before he turned around asked, "Yeah?"

"I want you to come back also in a few days. It seems you are having trouble controling when you turn yourself in to a scythe."

"Um, ok. But can't I talk to one of the Death Scythes too?" Soul asked. He liked Professor Stein and he thought he was a funny guy -even if he himself didn't even notice- but he also knew the doctor was mad and really enjoyed to dissect things.

"Well you could, but you should really talk to some one who has great knowledge and experience with a scythe, or a Death Scythe that actually _is_ a scyhte. And I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want to even go near Spirit..."

"Very true. I'll be back in a few days, then." Soul said quickly as he turned and walked back in to the living to Maka.

Marie took a step closer to Stein, observing how he had gotten black blood all over his hands. "Didn't you put any gloves on?"

"I didn't have time, he was bleeding pretty badly."

"Didn't Ragnarok harden the black blood?"

"He tried to, but couldn't. Ever since they left Medusa and joined the academy, he hasn't been able to. However, the madness still lives inside Crona."

"But if his madness comes from the black blood and the blood lost its properties of hardening, then shouldn't the madness go also?" Marie asked curiously.

Stein walked a few feet to a wall and leaned up against it. He began twisting the screw in his head. "Once the madness enters your mind and soul, there is no way to get rid of it. You can fight it all you want, but it still will never leave you." There was no emotion in the doctor's low, smooth voice.


	12. Chapter 12

"Well we should really get going, it's getting late and Soul is starting to whine like a baby." Maka said with a smirk.

"I am not!" Soul said bitterly. "I just need a shower and some food."

"What ever," she said with a wave of her hand.

Tsubaki stood next to Black Star and said, "Yes, we should be going too."

Crona walked a little closer to Maka; Stein observed the pink- haired boy. _He only wants to be around Maka... He must trust her and her only. That, or he has a crush on her. Yeah, I think that's what the students call it. What a strange term. Why would you want to crush the person you are attracted to?_ Stein smirked and tried to suppress a small laugh as he thought of Crona "crushing" on Maka.

Maka had noticed how Stein's chest was trembling slightly, and she worried he was seizing or something. "Professor Stein! Are you alright?"

"What? Oh, yes I'm fine. I was just imagining something funny." the mad doctor said as he tried again to stop himself from laughing. This time, the laugh broke out a little and Maka couldn't help but imagine what he was thinking about. _What if he's laughing about dissecting something? Or maybe he's thinking of dissecting Crona, he keeps on looking at him. Wait, now he's looking at me! _Stein shifted most of his weight to his left leg, his hip leaning out slightly, and he put one arm across his lower rib cage and rested his elbow on his forearm with his thumb and index finger to his chin. His eyes darted back and forth from Crona to Maka, thinking of how they would look together as a couple.

"Uhm... Professor Stein?" Maka asked nervously.

"Yes?" Stein responded. Obviously, what ever he was thinking about really was funny to him because he still had a smile on his face.

"Why do you keep observing Crona and I?" _Oh my god please don't say you were imagining dissecting me... Please don't..._

"Oh, I was just thinking about how you and Crona would look as a couple." Stein said simply.

Marie's face brightened up. "Awwwww that would be so cute!" her voice was at a high pitch; Stein had never heard her voice like that. _Why do I feel as if I am attracted to her when she talks like that? Of course, not in a sexual way. Maybe I think it's cute... _Stein's smile grew larger after he thought that.

Maka's and Crona's faces turned a hot red and he looked to the ground as she turned her head to the wall. Now, Soul looked really irritated. Stein continued on, "Soul, you don't like that idea much, do you?"

"What? No. I mean yes. Wait, I meant-" he stammered.

Stein's laugh was strengthened as he said, "It's alright, Soul. I know what you meant."

"Yeah, so uh... We really should get going. Hehe, I hope you feel better, Professor Stein. I'll see you later, hehe." Maka said quickly as she grabbed Soul and led him out the door with Crona following just a few feet behind. Black Star and Tsubaki said their goodbyes then left.

Stein laughed a little as he noticed that Marie was still smiling. "You know, I've never heard you speak in that voice."

"What voice?"

"When you were saying how it would be cute if Maka and Crona were together, your voice raised to a high pitch." Stein said, he was still smiling. _So many smiles..._ he thought. Marie blushed and looked down. "Well?"

"Well what?" Marie asked, her head turning up so she could look into his olive eyes.

"I was just wondering what next."

Marie thought for a moment, trying to figure out if he had meant it some way else. But she decided he probably meant it exactly how it was. "Well, I'm pretty tired so I was going to go to bed."

"But you just slept... On my lap," Stein said as another smile bubbled on his face.

Marie blushed again before she said, "I don't know, I'm just still tired. Are you going to finish your coffee?"

Stein looked to the small living room table where his coffee mug was sitting. "Yeah, in a minute." He turned his head back to Marie and he stared into her amber eye. "But first, I want to say bouna niotte." Marie only looked at him with a confused expression. Stein smiled slightly and said, "It means 'good night' in Italian."

"Ah. Well, bouna niotte, Franken." she said as she walked past him and toward the hall. Stein felt a small amount of dissapointment in his chest; he had been expecting a hug. However, before she got to the hall, she turned around, ran back to him and wrapped her arms around her neck. Stein put his hands on her back and buried his face in her neck. Her sweet scent of coconuts, strawberries and vanilla invaded his nose. Then he felt her head move, and he pulled back slightly to see her looking up at him. She was staring at his lips for a brief moment, then at his eyes, then his lips again.

"Marie... I..." Stein didn't know what to say to her. _Should I even say anything?_ His question was answered when he felt his lips touch hers. He didn't tell himself to kiss her, or to even lower his head. He just... Did. As the kiss grew more passionate, he used barely half of his arm strength to push her closer to his body. To him, it was barely an effort. But to her, his strengthening hold was a beautiful crush. Finally, she pulled back, leaving Stein with a feeling of emptiness and fullness at the same time. He needed air; that was a long kiss, and there were so many emotions going through his head. He didn't want to pass again. But he didn't want Marie to realize that he needed to step outside, he wanted to be with her like this for just a little while longer.

"Goodnight, Franken," Marie said as she pulled her arms from him and left to her room. As soon as she was down the hall, Stein picked up his coffee cup, got his chair, then wheeled hisself outside. He got back in the same position he was in earlier, enjoying the cold air of the night. Lifting the cup to his lips, Stein took a big gulp of his coffee. _That's strange... It tastes odd. Maybe it's stale. But then, it's still warm. _Stein just shrugged it off and put the cup on the floor next to his chair.

Marie was still smiling over the kiss by the time she had showered and slipped in to bed. She stared up at the cieling, giggled, then turned off the lamp on her bedside table and relaxed to drift off into waking dreams... Dreams that she wished would not haunt her for the rest of her life.

**Sooooo, what do you think will happen in the next couple of chapters? Leave a review and tell me what you think! Bye :) -Mikshizels**


	13. Chapter 13

Marie woke up shaking in the dark of her room. She turned on the lamp next to her bed, then she checked the clock. It was only 3:42 a.m. She knew she was dreaming, but about what? She tried to remember her dream, thinking that maybe if she thought it over and figured out what had caused it, she would feel better. However, she couldn't remember and something that felt like rotting meat in her stomach was growing, working its way into her chest. _It was just a dream, nothing more. You'll be fine, stop acting like a child. You're a Death Scythe, Marie!_ she thought to herself. Then she craned her neck to look at her bedroom window, grateful that Stein had finished it rather than leaving it an open hole in the wall. She rolled over onto her left side, adjusted the pillows a bit, then closed her eyes. She stayed like that for several minutes, trying to get back to sleep. When she found she couldn't, Marie sighed and stood from her bed. She went to the window and stared out, savoring the beautiful glow of the moon's light. Then, she heard a deep, terrible scream.

Stein's eyes flew open as he shot straight up, blowing the grey blanket over. His hands were shaking, and he could barely think straight. He looked wildly around his room, trying to figure out what was going on. Finally, his olive eyes fell upon Marie.Stein only stared at her for a few moments, trying to figure out what had happened. Then, he remembered. _That was one hell of a dream... _he thought as he pulled his long legs out from underneath the covers, and he dropped his legs over the side of his bed so his feet were planted firmly on the ground. He inhaled deeply as he put his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.

"Franken, are you alright? I heard you scream..." Marie said with sleep tugging on her voice.

Stein only sat on his bed, barely moving. "Franken?" she asked again. _Why am I getting that dream again, though? I haven't seen anything since I was in the hospital. So why now?_ Stein stood and turned the bolt in his head, trying to get the dizziness of standing up too quickly to fade off before he grabbed his lab coat, put his arms through the sleeves and pulled it up properly then exited his room.

"Franken, are you ok?" Marie's voice was now dripping with worry. He went in to the kitchen and sat down, still thinking about his dream. "I was falling... But then I was not anymore. Why did I stop?"

Stein continued to mentally examine the dream, images playing through his head. He didn't even notice standing next to him, or the fact that he was decribing his dream with a very low and quiet voice. _He was falling, and he was soaked. The only part of him that was not wet was a small patch of skin in the middle of his chest. As he was falling, abnormal creatures, demons he thought, surrounded him and were telling him to just let go. "Let go. Let go," they whispered. "All you need to do is let your mind break away, splash the water of relief upon your chest." _

_ "No! I won't!" Stein said._

_ The demons seemed to have been angry at this point because they all started screaming at him, "Let go! Let go! You stupid fool, just give up!" _

Only a minute or so had passed, but to Marie, she felt as if they were standing there in silence the whole night. Stein continued, "Then I hit the ground. I wanted to scream, to yell so loudly that my lungs burst. But then it all went black, everything went black. And I woke up..." his voice faded off.

"Oh, Franken... It was a dream, just a dream, ok?" Marie bent over and lightly wrapped her arms around Stein's upper chest while her chin rested on his shoulder. "Do you want to go back to bed?"

Stein said nothing, he only inhaled deeply and leaned his head back. Then it all started. He felt something in the back of his head; It was growing, clawing... It was a wild beast that you would only hear of in the oldest and most twisted of lengends, and it wanted out of its cage. Stein bit his lower lips harshly, and small drops of blood dripped out from where his white teeth were.

Marie could feel his body trembling, and she could smell the blood that came out of his lower lip. She lifted her head and stared down at him. "Franken, are you ok?" her voice was once again filled with worry, but there was something else in it: Fear.

Stein continued to shake as he doubled over, the chair flying back. He wrapped his arms around his abdomen as stumbled on his feet, trying to keep control of his balance. His respiration was now rapid with short, shallow breaths. "Franken!" Marie almost screamed as she rushed to his side. "What's happening?"

Stein's eyes had been tightly closed, but he finally opened one and turned it up to her. He was now trembling so badly that his hair was shaking. "Ma- rie..." his voice was very course and shaky. "You need... To... Run..."

"What, why?! I need to get help!" her voice was now raised dramatically and she began to stand to get the phone. She was stopped by Stein's tight grip on her arm.

"No, you need to... Run," he was now struggling to speak. It was taking all of the will and control he'd ever had to keep his sanity intact. But that sanity was now hanging by a thread, and a very slim one at that. He let go of her arm, his dropping to his side next to his thigh limply. The shaking of his body stopped, and the sick sound of the mad man's giggles took place.

Marie backed up against the wall, fear distorting her face._ He can't be slipping now... Not now. He just got control over it, so why is he falling? _Stein's little giggles soon turned into laughter. Harsh, insane laughter. He pulled his knees up so they were against his chest, then he leaned forward until he was balanced on the balls of his feet, then stood. He turned and left to the small den that he used as a clinic as Marie stayed completely in place. She hadn't moved a muscle, she couldn't. _Damn it! I need to be able to run... Start running, start running! There is no telling what he is going to do! _Marie screamed to herself inside her head; She could hear Stein's laughter becoming stronger and more mad as he got closer to the kitchen.

A dark figure was hovering in the kitchen walkway. Stein's arm was hanging loosely to his side, the other arm's hand in his coat pocket. His other hand held a shining steel scalpel.


	14. Chapter 14

***Warning!* This chapter is rated M for harsh language, sexual content and descriptive gore/horror. **

Marie stared at the cold steel hanging loosely in the mad man's long fingers. A dark, sinister humor burned in his eyes as Stein's laughter penetrated her ears.

"You know, I absolutely love how beautiful blood looks in the light of the moon. How the warm essence of a person's life can just drain from them while the stars watch over and pity them. Why don't we see how much the stars will pity you tonight, Marie?" Stein's crazy giggles wrapped themselves around Marie's brain and stabbed at her heart.

"St-Stein," she stuttered. "Please..." She knew she could run now, her brain was screaming at her to and her legs were trembling, ready to run for her life. But something else deep inside her told her this was not really him, and she needed to confront the man standing before her. _But then, shouldn't I be even more afraid of him? _Stein took a long, slow step to her. Then he took another. And another. He was now only about five feet away, and Marie swore she could feel the madness radiating from his warm body.

Stein looked down at his scalpel, turning it slightly so he could see his reflection in it. He looked back up at Marie and saw the raw fear in her eyes. He was the predator, and she was the prey. Stein only laughed harder at knowing just how much power he had over her. "Oh, Marie," Stein started, "don't you know that this is the only thing in this world that will never change? People will change throughout their lives, the world evolves, people can go in and out of sanity within a heart beat. However, there is always _predator_ and _prey_. And guess what, my dear Marie? You are my prey, I am your predator. And in this world, no, my world, the predator always coming out on top." Stein took one final stride to Marie, his long figure towering over her, arm extended over her head and elbow propped up against the wall she was leaning on. The scalpel was hanging dangerously close to her head. He took a long gaze at her, drinking in all of her features. Her long legs (she was wearing short shorts and a spahgetti strap shirt that cut at just above her belly button), her hourglass figure, her bright amber eye. Then his eyes fell upon her plump chest, and he put his hand that was hanging freely on her hip and slowly raised his arm so his long fingers traveled up to just below her right breast.

Marie gasped at the contact and was shaking; she admitted to herself a long time ago that she wanted this man, but not how he is now. _This isn't him... This isn't him..._ She could only tell herself that so many times before she felt pressure on her chest. Stein was leaning close to her; his neck lowered and his head bent down so that his nose was brushing against hers and their lips were about to make contact.

"Tell me," Stein said as his hand continued to explore her slender body, "what is it about women that us men find so damn irresistable? Even I have to admit..." His voice trailed off as his hand began to slowly travel down pass her belly button. "That your mere presence can sometimes drive me wild." Marie gasped again lightly as Stein's long fingers began to toy with the lace ties of her shorts before he untied them and slipped his fingers into the waistband. Stein let out a small chuckle. He could tell Marie wanted him, but he also knew from past experiments that women easily feel violated, so he knew that he had the most power he'd ever had on her.

Stein smirked and said, "Oh, Marie, my sweet little angel. You're shaking." Stein looked down at his hand for a moment before his eyes met contact with her eye and pushed his hand down even further. Marie's brain was now on over drive. She didn't know what to do, what to say or what to think. The only thing that she could imagine was run._ Run!_ Marie shut her eye tightly for a brief moment, then bolted away from Stein. He tried to grab her by the arm, but he missed by only a few millimeters. She ran through the kitchen then the living room. She hit her leg on the couch and knew that would bruise badly later. Stein was close behind her, but she knew that he was only toying with her. If he wanted to get her, he could have the moment she ran.

Stein followed Marie down the hall; he didn't even have to run. He only took long, quick strides, and he was able to keep up with her with ease. Marie ran to her room and shut and locked the door. She looked around frantically for something to barracade the door with until her eyes fell upon a dark figure in the corner staring at her. _Franken?! How the hell did he get in here?!_ But she soon realized a millisecond later that this man was going through her drawers; a thief.

The thief pulled a switchblade from his pocket and walked around her bed. He pushed her up against the wall a few feet to the left of the door and grabbed a thick lock of her hair and pulled it up. Marie screamed in fear.

Stein just stood by the door waiting to hear Marie say something. He only laughed quietly. He figured she would be barricading the door by now, but then he heard her scream. Stein laughed louder so he knew she could hear. "Who is that?" a deep voice came from inside her room._ Who the hell is that?! She's mine! _Stein's laughter turned insane and bitter at the same time as he kicked in the door. The wood flew splintered from the hinges and the rest of the door shattered as his heavy boot collided with it.

Stein looked wildly around the room to find the intruder. Finally, his olive eyes fell upon a man wearing all black whose right hand had a tight grip on Marie's hair while his left hand was taking a long term trip down south. Stein's laughter only turned more intense as the man let go of Marie and pointed the blade at him. "You really think you can hurt me?" Stein giggled.

"Yeah, I do. What? You think you're fucking invincable just because you're tall?" the thief asked confidently.

Stein chuckled at the man's arrogance. "Oh, not because of that. Surely, you've heard of me?" the man only stared at Stein in confusion as Marie whimpered in fear. Then his eyes widened, and Stein's laughter was now worse than before. He knew that this man was now terrified of him; he didn't even need to use his Soul Perception to tell. This guy's face was like and open large print book.

The burglurar tried to speak, but no words came, so Stein decided to talk for him. "Yes, I'm him." Stein took a step toward the man.

"Please, you need to run..." Marie's voice was quivering and quiet, but she was too late to speak. The man was held in place by fear, but there was something else. _I can't move... Why can't I move? _he thought frantically.

"I've sewn your body in place with my soul sutures. If you take a glance at your feet," Stein then unlaced the sutures on the man's neck so he could move his head, "you will see the white lines that are tieing your shoes to the ground." the man's eyes darted down only to see exactly what the mad man had said.

"So, now what? You gonna kill me, huh?" it was obvious the man was trying to act brave, but he was dripping with a cold sweat.

Stein's sickly laugh once again penetrated the man's ears. His cackle alone was enough to instill fear into the man's heart. He took several steps toward the intruder until he was towering over him, the glare of his glasses stopping the man's ability to see Stein's eyes. "You really are a stupid one, aren't you?" Stein grinned as he grabbed his neck and released the soul sutures. Immediately he began to kick his legs and tug on his neck. But the thousand year old instinct to be afraid took over completely, and the man's body went limp.

Stein raised the hand that was holding his scalpel and waved it around in front of the man's face with a vicious grin. Then Stein lowered it to the man's stomach and slowly pushed it in. He could feel the flesh slice around the blade as he cut deeper. The thief screamed wildly in pain, and Stein's eyes flashed over to see Marie cowering in the corner, terrible sobs escaping her. He continued to push the blade into the man for a brief moment before he decided to pull up, thus tearing cutting the man's abdomen causing him to scream even worse. Marie cried out, begging for help. _This is not him... The madness has taken over. But what do I do?! God, help me!_ She hadn't even noticed how she had been screaming for help until Stein had let the man drop to the floor drop to the floor limply and saunter to her.

"Marie..." his voice trailed off as he brushed his gore- covered fingers across her face, leaving streaks of blood. Her tears fell over the blood, causing her tears to turn red. "Oh, shhh... It's ok... Shhh..." Stein hushed as he wrapped his long arms around her shoulders and held her as a mother would a child that had a nightmare. He stroked her hair, leaving crimson streaks of the warm liquid. _When will he wake up?!_ she screamed in her mind.

Stein stood again, then walked back to the man bleeding out on the floor. His breaths were ragged and short, he was so close to death. Stein bent his knees completely and he sat on the balls of his feet. He tilted his head to a ninety degree angle and slid his hand into the incision, working his fingers around all of the man's organs. Stein could feel the abdomen muscles tighten as the thief winced in pain. Then he grabbed the lower intestine and twisted it out, smiling insanely as the man's life essance gushed out from his paling body. Choked _gurgles came up from his throat as a stream of crimson poured out from his lips. _

Stein awoke, his mind was rational, and he was trying to remember what had happened. He couldn't recall anything, but he focused his attention on the man laying at his feet, covered in blood with his lower intestine pulled out. _What the hell...? _Stein straightened his legs as he stood, and he rolled his eyes around the room, trying to find some clues on what had happened. His eyes came across a mirror, and he found blood all over him, with his hand covered in the body fluid completely. He gazed through his grey bangs and looked into his eyes. They were the same color as he had seen in the mirror the night that Marie hadfirst arrived, a sick reddish- green.

_Marie..._ Stein slowly turned his head to the left to see Marie huddled in a corner and crying. She looked straight into his eyes, and he wondered if she saw the color too. _No, it is part of the madness. She can't see it._ "Marie, I-" he cut himself off as Marie gasped in fear when he took a step forward and reached his arm out to her. He looked down, trying to comprehend what he was feeling. He felt something warm traveling down his cheeks. _Am I... Crying...? _


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey guys sorry about the last chapter, I stayed up all night and started the chapter around 6:30 a.m and finished it around 7 a.m, and I still have only gotten an hour or two of sleep. But hopefully this chapter will be better :P**

"Stay away from me," her voice was shaking with raw fear. He could see it in her eye, in the tears that fell. Her face as well as her hair had streaks of blood in them.

Stein slowly tore his eyes away from the cowering woman and looked at his hands. _So much blood..._ He dropped his scalpel, and it landed on the carpet, the blood a startling color against the white fabric. He could feel a single warm tear run down the side of his left cheek as he fell to his knees in pure hatred and disgust of himself. "Marie... I..." he was speechless. He had hurt the woman who had saved his life and who gave him a reason to fight for his sanity; she was now scarred for life. _She could not love me now... Not after this. _Stein thought sadly. He knew he would enter a state of immense depression if she left him, and this only made him feel worse. _God, help me... What have I become?_

Stein tried to face Marie, to make eye contact, but he couldn't bring hisself to. "I'm so sorry..." his voice that was once low and smooth was now quiet and afraid. _What is she going to do...?_ He tried to figure out what to say for several long moments, wishing she would speak. "I know that you probably hate me," he began slowly, "but I want you to know that I am so sorry for putting you through this... I know that an apology will never suffice to ease the scars this memory will carry, so I don't think I will ever be able to forgive myself even if you somehow could." Stein's voice broke as more tears fell.

He hadn't cried since his mother was murdered. Stein thought back to the memory of his eight year old self, wishing he could understand why seeing her blood fly everywhere was so horrifying to him. Blood, death and gore never disturbed him. The two formal are part of every day life, and the latter was something he thought of on a daily basis. _Maybe it's because she was my mother... _

Stein put his bloodied hands to his head and pulled his hair and growled in hatred of hisself. "You stupid animal... You fucking MONSTER!" Stein screamed to hisself. Marie jumped in startlement at the sound of his voice raising so quickly. She continued to cry silently in the corner, debating whether she should do anything or just wait for him to leave. _That was NOT him. He didn't know what he was doing... Do something, Marie! Do something! _she thought quickly.

She turned her head down slightly before she got on her feet and slowly creeped over to Stein. He obviously did not notice her approach him because he jumped and shot his head up when he heard her shaken voice. "Franken..." she trailed off. Stein's olive eyes were filled with despair and regret. His lower lip was quivering slightly, and his blood covered-hands were laying palm- up on his lap, shaking. Marie sat on her knees the same way he was and put her hands on his cheeks, wiping a tear from his face with her right thumb. "I know it wasn't you."

Stein only stared at her amber eye in amazement. "How could you," he stopped for a moment, trying to find his words, "How could you still even look at me...? I am a monster." he said, his voice filled with sadness and a bit of anger, as he turned his face toward the ground so she couldn't look at him.

"No." Marie said sternly as she pulled his face back up. "You're not. I don't know what caused you to lose control, but I am going to find out, and I am going to put an end to this." the fear that was once burning viciously in her voice was replaced by worry and confidence. Yes, there still was some hint of fear within her voice, but it was barely present.

"But how? I am a mad man, a psychotic freak that everyone knows to stay away from else they get cut open. I told you, the madness is part of me. How will you stop this beast that is me?" Stein asked quickly.

Marie only stared back into his olive green eyes. Her lips curled slightly in a smile as she said, "I will. You only need to trust me."

He searched her face for any other readable expressions, he wanted to learn how to figure out what people are feeling without using Soul Perception. He thought he found confidence and pain, but he wanted to be sure. Stein used his Soul Perception and examined her soul; It was in pure chaos as a civil war raged on. A part of her wanted to scream and run and give up, but there was something else, the exact opposite of what he saw. There was confidence, strength. He knew that she was determined to help him, and he knew that a determined Marie was always one of the surest things in this life.

"I trust you," he mumbled after he was sure of what he saw in her soul. Marie displayed a beautific, sad smile as her tears continued to fall. She leaned forward and kissed Stein's cheek as she snaked her arms around his slumped shoulders. Stein only collapsed into her arms and drank in her affection. He did not understand it, and he couldn't explain how much he'd changed in the last few weeks, but he now wanted her love. Love was something that was once unnecassery in his life; he could have gone his entire life without knowing it and it still woulnd't bother him. But now, in this moment, he actually _needed_ her warmth.

"Marie," he said quietly.

"Yes?"

"Do you hate me?"

"No. God, no." she said hastily.

"Do you fear me?"

Marie pondered over his question for a short while, wondering of she should tell the truth or lie. "I... I am, but that does not mean I won't stay by your side until this is over."

"Why though...?" he asked slowly.

"Because..." Marie inhaled deeply. "Because I love you, Franken."

Stein stared into her single eye with disbelief. _Even after this, she still loves me? How? But I think the real question is: Why haven't I told her how I feel?_ He searched his mind for what to say, wishing he had Spirit around to give him a few pointers. "Marie, I need you to know that just less than a month ago, I was a different man. I didn't feel things that I feel now. And I sure as hell know that I don't understand any of this. But I know that right now, I feel as if I... Need... you to survive. I can't grasp how a person could need some one like that, but I do. I feel as if without you, I won't have a purpose." Stein stopped. He knew what he was going to say next, but he wanted to make sure he knew what he was talking about. _Screw it._ "Marie, I think I love you."

Her eyes filled with tears again. _Damn it! What did I say wrong? Don't women enjoy it when they learn that some one has affections for them like this?_ "I'm sorry if I said something to upset you..." his voice trailed off as Marie shook her head; a smile spread across her face.

"No, no. You didn't."

Bewilderment ran its course throughout his mind as he tried to figure out what was going on. _Ah, I see. This is what some people call "happy tears."_ _So, shouldn't I be happy?_ Stein smiled at her, and that caused her to smile. _I find it amazing how she was just cowering in a corner telling me to stay away and is now smiling at me... But do I really love her? I think I do... I hope I do. Altough it seemed to be painful, seeing her so afraid of me like that is what _really_ brought me back. Sure I noticed her after I had woken up, but seeing Marie cry in fear for her life is what forced me to think straight and not slip back into the madness. _Stein's brow furrowed slightly as he pondererd over his thoughts, he knew that they were all true.

"Marie... there's something I want to tell you." Stein began. He was going to tell her what needed to be said.

"Hrmm?" Marie's head cocked a bit.

"I am only going to get worse, you know that. If _this_," he looked around the room and gestured slightly with his hands, "happens again, I don't know if I'll be able to come out of it before I-" he was cut off by Marie.

"No. You wouldn't hurt me." she said defiantly. Although there was a hint of doubt in her voice.

"Listen, the only reason why you are alive right now is because that man just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. If he hadn't have been here, it would have been _your_ lower intestine that was pulled out." Stein stopped; he was getting too detailed and it was much too soon for things like that. But he still needed to make sure she got his point. Stein sighed and thought for a little while. He reached his left arm up and twisted the large iron bolt in his head. He continued to adjust it until he heard a click that was louder than all the others.

"My point is I am dangerous, Marie. I don't know when I will slip again, it could be at any time. And if you're here when I fall, what will happen to you?"

Marie shook her head slowly in defeat. "But, Franken... "

"No. You need to stay somewhere else so you are not in harm's way."

"But I need to stay with you! You may think I haven't noticed, but I know that I help keep you from losing control. If I leave, then what will happen to you? The madness will take over so much easier." Marie argued.

Stein had to admit she did have a point. There were countless times in the past few weeks where the madness began to take over, but she had brought him back. _So... If I figure out what caused the madness to spike so intensely, I might have a chance at stopping it. But if I hurt Marie... Damn it. I've already chased her across the house with a scalpel and ripped a man's intestine out right in front of her. I've already scarred her enough. _"Marie, I can't put you through anything else. You're already scarred for life because of me. The best thing for you would be to leave and live your life without me."

"Franken, I said no, and I meant it. I am NOT going to leave you like this. If there is any way I can help, I will do it. I know I may cry easily, but remember that I am a Death Scythe and I am very stubborn. There is no point in arugueing with me because you know it's true." Marie's voice was strong and affirmative, she knew how to persaude him perfectly. Stein only stared at her, trying to come up with a way to beat her arguement. But as she said, there was no point and he finally succumbed to his defeat.

"Alright, Marie. But you have to promise me one thing." Stein took a breath before he continued, "If I begin to behave in a strange way such as random laughter, me looking around the room a lot, me talking to myself and so on, I need you to run out of the house and find help. Someone like Spirit or Sid or even Shinigami." Stein took another long breath. "I just... I can't hurt you again, Marie. If I did... I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. Well to be honest, I can't forgive myself now. But you get my point. So do you promise?"

Marie nodded slowly. "I promise." _He knows that if I were to run at those moments, then there really isn't even a point to me staying. But if this is what it takes to stay by his side through this, I will._

**Hey! Sorry if this chapter was boring, I just needed to cover some certain ground so I can press on with the story much clearer and easier. Oh and by the way, thanks for all the reviews! They all encourage me greatly and are one of the main reasons why I am still writing and have not abandoned this story. Thanks again for all the reviews and views! :) -Mikshizels**


	16. Chapter 16

It had been three days since Stein succumbed to the madness. Three days of heavy guilt. Three days of noticing how Marie kept an eye on him whever he was near but tried to keep it discreet. _She says she doesn't fear me, but I know it's true. I don't even have to look at her soul to confirm it because it's so obvious._ Whenever he sat down at the table, she would shift uneasily and look down a little bit before she would look up at him and finally say something about how she found a spider in the living room or how she had just made coffee if he wanted some. She was always so short with her words, it was as if she thought just talking to him would set him off.

He had to dispose of the body of the man he had cut open the same night it happened. Marie hadn't slept at all that night, but he fell into a heavy sleep. He didn't want to, though. What if he slipped back into the madness while he slept? He guessed Marie feared the same. All that night, he had dreams of snakes and spiders, of little demons. They all taunted him, telling him to come back. He wanted to just to end the torment of constantly fighting, but he knew even in his dreams he wouldn't...

"It's good to have you back, Professor Stein," Maka said cheerfully after class.

Stein smiled lightly and nodded. Then Soul walked up to Maka and wrapped an arm around her waist, causing her to blush. Stein raised and eyebrow and adjusted the screw in his head, his other hand in his coat pocket. "So... When did...?" he asked slowly and curiously.

Maka giggled as Soul explained, "I don't know... I just decided to tell her how I truly feel, and we just ended up together." Soul's cheeks started to turn red, but he tried to keep his cool guy act by continuing, "But it's not like I told her some Jack and Rose/Titanic lovey-dovey crap. I just told her straight up, no cute giggles. I-"

"Soul," Stein cut him off, "She is so close to Maka Chopping you." Soul's eyes widened slightly as he turned his head to his girlfriend. She seemed darkened, grinding her teeth and growling quietly as she tightly gripped her text book.

"Yeah, I'll shut up now." Soul said under his breath. "But it really is awesome to have you teaching us again, Professor. Our substitute was the worst in the world, even if he is a Death Scythe."

"Yes, Spirit is not the type of person you would expect to be a Death Scythe."

"It was Mama who made him a Death Scythe," Maka cut in. There was a slight awkward pause, so she continued with a new subject. "So has your recovery been easy?"

Stein thought back to last night, to seeing Marie fear for her life in a corner because of him. Images of a large pool of blood and a pulled out intestine next to a man's body invaded his head. "Professor Stein, you alright?" Maka asked worriedly.

Stein snapped his thoughts back to reality. "Oh, yes. I'm fine. To answer your question, I had a very quick recovery. I am actually a bit surprised at just how fast it took for me to get back to a healthy state." Although he would much rather be feeling like hell than going insane.

"That's good," Maka said with one of her cute Maka smiles. "Anyway we should get going to our next class with Ms. Marie."

At the sound of her name, Stein blushed ever so slightly and the corners of his lips curved. He realized what he was doing and tried to hide it, but it only made it worse because his cheeks turned a light pink.

"Awww Professor Stein and Ms. Marie," Soul taunted. "Now that is just adorable!" He was obviously trying to annoy the doctor because he made hisself sound like a dotty old aunt. "So how was napping with her while you were shirtless, huh? Must have been nice." Soul tightened his hold Maka, trying to tell her that he did in fact think it must have been nice and he wanted to try it. Maka only chopped him with her textbook.

Stein smirked as Maka growled at her weapon. "You kids should get to class now. Marie will probably scold me later for making her students late."

"Yeah. See ya, man." Soul said with a nod as if he were talking to one of his friends. Maka smiled and nodded at her teacher also as she walked out of the classroom with Soul.

_And just to think I was imagining her with Crona._ Stein sat down on his office chair and rolled to the black board. He picked up the chalk, stretched his long torso so he was sitting up completely and he began scribbling down the topic of what he would be teaching. He then put the chalk down and checked the time, 10:01 a.m. The students in his next class still had another five minutes before session started, so they were all probably waiting in the hall and socializing.

Stein turned the chair around so he was at his desk. He leaned forward and put his arms on the desk then rested his head in his arms. He closed his eyes and waited for the bell for class to start, but he dozed off.

_"Come on, Stein. Give up... Just let go and embrace in the madness." A small voice growled. Stein knew that he wanted to do exactly what the voice said. "Give up, give up. Let go of your sanity. Who needs sanity when you've got madness? You won't be afraid, you won't feel pain nor sadness. And don't say you don't feel sad because I know you do, Stein. I know how you felt when you saw her so terrified of you. Let me make that all go away."_

Stein shifted uneasily in his sleep._ "No... No. I won't... I still have a reason... To go on..." _

_ "Just let go. Wake from this dream and enter another. Wake up. Wake up. Come on, Stein. WAKE UP!" The voice was now much louder. He was beginning to get angry, why couldn't this voice just leave him alone?! _

"No..." Strips of his soul wavelength crackled around Stein's hand as he remained to refuse in his sleep.

"Uhh, Professor Stein?" Chris Anderson, one of his students, said nervously as he backed away. He could see the electrical waves of the scientist's soul and knew that if he got hit with it, he'd be in a world of pain. "Professor?"

Stein's eyes snapped opened. He picked his head up and looked around his classroom. All of his students were ready to begin the session, they were just sitting quietly at their desks wondering about his strange behavior. He looked at his hand and immediately extinguished the dangerous crackles of his soul. "I uh, apologize. I didn't really sleep well last night," he lied. He had been in such a deep sleep that Marie had to shake him awake.

"It's all good," Chris said slowly as he walked back to his desk. Stein took a look at all of his students and sighed. _How much longer will I be able to teach properly?_

"Alright, now today we won't be doing any dissections." A few kids murmered amongst themselves in surprise as he continued, "I know, I know. You all missed me and my dissections so much. But anyway, I want you all to..." Stein took a few minutes to explain the assignment to his students before he resumed his place at his desk. He opened the top drawer of the desk and pulled out a black composition notebook. _Come on, I know I took some notes on this before..._ Stein flipped through every page about halfway through the book until he found a page titled "Black Blood". _Creates madness... Can harden to be used as a weapon... Origin: Witch Medusa. It also says here that the blood can easily be transfered by of course injection, and... Digestion. Did Crona's blood drip into my coffee a few days ago? If so, that would explain why my insanity has been going berserk lately, as well as the odd flavor of the coffee. I need to speak to Crona. _

"Crona, are you in my class right now?" Stein picked his head up to search for the pink-haired boy.

A student raised her hand. "No, sir. He's in Ms. Marie's class right now with Maka and her team." Stein aknowledged the girl with a nod of his head.

"Class, I will be back in a few minutes. Continue with your assignment, and _no talking_." He added emphasis to the last few words, looking two male students straight in the eye.

"Do you need something, Franken?" Marie asked. She was pointing to something on the board, she was probably explaining a lesson. Although, almost all of her students were talking, and she was trying to speak over them. "Could you all please quiet down?"

Stein nodded his head affirmatively. "I need a word with Crona." All of the students continued talking, they hadn't even noticed Marie trying to tell them to be quiet.

Marie nodded and once again tried to quiet her students, but to no avail. She sighed and looked hopelessly to him. All of the students were suddenly quiet when a scalpel flew just millimeters away from the loudest student's head and was stuck in the wall right next to him. "Crona? I need to speak with you." Stein said. All of the students turned their heads to him. The pink- haired boy trembled slightly and gritted his teeth as he stood and slowly wobbled to Stein.

"Y-y- yes, Professor St- Stein?"

"It's alright, Crona. I just need to talk to you. You're not in any trouble." Soul and the rest of the students took another glance at Stein and Crona before they returned their attention to their work. Maka, however, eyed them curiously. _What does the professor need with Crona? _ "Step outside with me, would you?" Stein asked.

Crona nodded and followed his teacher out to the hallway. "So, what is it, Professor?"

"When Soul cut you, was my coffee cup any where near you?"  
"Uhm... I'm not sure... I think so. Why do you ask?" Crona replied nervously.

"I think some of your blood got in my cup..."

The boy gasped lightly before he asked, "A- are you alright?"

"I don't know... The madness inside of me has been growing rapidly. I don't know how far it will go."

"So... Is that what is wrong with Ms. Marie?" Crona asked curiously.

Stein's heart beat picked up. "What's going on with her?"

"She seems really shaken up. She has been stuttering a lot too. But then she also seems really tired, so she probably only had a bad dream and couldn't sleep after it." Crona theorized.

"Perhaps. Now I have a few more questions." Stein said quickly. "How long did it take for the black blood in you to lose its properties of hardening?"

"Uhmm... Maybe a week or two."

"Has the madness in you died down at all?"

"Yes, very much. But it's still there..." Crona seemed a bit saddened by his confession.

"But you are easily able to control it?" Stein asked hastily.

"Yes, very easily. Really, Professor Stein. You are ok, right?"

_Crona must think the only way the blood can transfer is by injection... _"I'm fine. Thanks for your time, now get back to your seat." Stein said with a light smile as he nodded to the boy and slowly walked to the men's room. Stein turned on the faucet and removed his glasses before he bagan splashing cold water on his face. He sighed and stared down into the sink as he listened to the splashing of the water.

"I'm so sorry, Marie..." Stein looked up to the mirror and gasped in startlement at what he saw. His face was his own, but it looked like the madness took over, and demons danced around him. Stein took a step back and watched his reflection in horror. "_INNOSENCE! INNOSENCE! INNOSENCE!" _All of the demons shrieked at him.

"SHUT UP!" Stein screamed back at them as his fist collided with the mirror. He stepped back and looked at his reflection in the shattered mirror. Blood dripped from his knuckles and small shards of glass were stuck in his skin. _Why is it happening now...? _Stein sighed and closed his eyes. _I need to clean this up and get back to class._

**Hey guys. I apologize for another boring chapter, but as I said before, this all needs to be said. Btw, the part where the demons are screaming "Innosence" to Stein is actually a part of my favorite song. It probably is the BEST song to describe Stein. Every time I write a chapter, I listen to that song and it usually helps me to stay in character with Stein. I highly recommend you check it out, it's called "Confession" by the band Red. It's so freaking amazing XD Thanks for reading! :D -Mikshizels**


	17. Chapter 17

**This chapter is rated M for a reason...**

"So, Professor Stein, why do you think I am having trouble controling when I change into a scythe?" Soul asked. He and Crona had been standing in the front of Stein's laboratory for the past couple of minutes talking about the recent events in which Soul had unintentionally turned.

"To be completely honest, I am not sure. When you turn, is it when you are feeling a great amount of emotion?"

Soul thought back to the events, and he realized that all of those incidents happened when he was laughing really hard, when he was angry and when he was very happy. "Yeah, come to think of it, yes."

"Then perhaps you need to work on controlling your emotions. I'm not saying don't let yourself feel anything, but keep a close watch on the weapon inside you when you are experiencing strong emotions." Stein said to Soul. Soul looked a little saddened by this. _But... Maka makes me so happy... What if I can't control it when I'm with her, and she gets hurt? I already turned when she said yes to going out with me and I almost cut her. What if that happens again?_ "Soul?"

"Ugh, yeah? What's up?" he was tossed back to reality from his thoughts.

"Are you alright? Your soul seems confused," Stein observed.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just kind of tired."

The scientist nodded at his student and turned to Crona. "So, how is the gash on your arm?"

Crona rolled up the sleeve on his arm and gestured to a few plaes that were dark red. "There are a lot of sensitive spots and it burns every now and then, but other than that it's fine."

Stein took hold of the boy's wrist and observed the wound. "It's infected, actually."

Crona began trembling slightly. "Is- is it bad?"

"Oh no, it could be much worse. I just need to clean it and I should change the stitches." Stein let go of the pink-haired boy's wrist and gestured for him to follow him into the laboratory. "Soul, you coming?"

The white-haired boy shook his head as he said, "No, I need to get back home for dinner or Maka will scream at me."

Stein smiled as he said, "I know how that is. See you later, Soul."

Soul waved goodbye as he turned toward the gate and began his small trek home.

Stein lead Crona into his small clinic and sat him down on the cold medical table. "Give me a minute," the mad man said as he put on white latex gloves and pulled out tweezers, a needle, medical thread, and a syringe filled with anesthetics from his desk drawers. Crona shivered slightly. _Oh this is probably going to hurt..._

Stein cleaned the gash on the pink-haired boy's arm before he he injected the anesthesia in several places in and around the wound; Crona winced in pain. He pulled out all of the stitches from his skin, then cleaned it again. Finally, he was able to begin placing the new stitches. Crona did not complain at all through the ordeal, but he did groan slightly and wince. He even pulled back a few times, but Stein's grip on his arm was firm.

"There. All done. Now that wasn't so bad, now was it?" Stein asked with a slight smile.

Crona shook his head and smiled back. "So where is Ms. Marie?"

Stein was caught off gaurd at the sound of her name. "She's ugh, still at the academy decorating her classroom."

"Decorating?" Crona asked as he cocked his head slightly.

"Yeah, she says the room is too bland and boring." Stein replied while he twisted the large iron bolt in his head. "I really don't understand that."

Crona shrugged his shoulders. "I guess Ms. Marie is just a really bright person and wants the things around her to be also. Anyway I need to get going also. Thanks for helping me with this," he said as he gestured to his arm.

"No problem. Make sure you keep it clean and if it gets worse, come back here and I'll take a look at it." Crona nodded as he turned toward the door to go home. As soon as the heavy metal laboratory doors closed, Stein took a deep, refreshing breath as he walked in the living room and collapsed into his favorite recliner. He put his head back and closed his eyes, wanting to sleep. However, _they_ wanted him to do more than sleep.

"Franken, I'm home," Marie called from the front door. She didn't even notice Stein sleeping on the recliner in the living room when she entered. Then he mumbled something in his sleep, and she jumped slightly. She laughed at herself for being so jumpy. But then she realized what he had said, and she began to worry. "Franken?"

"Let me... Go... Let go... No, I'm not going to. Stop... Stop... Shut up and get out of my head!" Stein's eyes flew open and he jumped up from the chair, his soul wavelength crackeling around his hand at the ready to blast anything within a five mile radius away from him. His eyes darted around the room as he panted and prespirtation lightly formed on his forehead. He looked at Marie questionaningly, asking what was going on. Marie's expression only told him she was confused and worried.

Stein sighed as he released the charge of his soul wavelenght and sat back down on the chair. He hung his head down with his elbows on his knees, forearms drooping loosely. He tried to clear his head by adjusting the screw, but that didn't help. Marie only looked at him from a few feet away, wondering what she should do. _Why is he having so many bad dreams? _"Another nightmare?" she asked quietly.

He shook his head without looking up at her. "They're not nightmares... Well I guess you could call them that, but they are not the same. A nightmare is something you can wake up from. But this, this is something that is too real. It's like the madness speaks to me when I am asleep." Marie seemed saddened by what he said. She didn't want him to go through this anymore. Ironically, small giggles began floating out of the mad scientist.

"Franken?" She asked as she began backing away. _Not again... No. I can't run this time. I need to bring him out of it._ "Franken, listen to me. Come back, don't let it take you. Come back to me, please!" Marie begged. The giggles only continued. Marie took several small steps to him and got on her knees. She took his hands in hers and she continued to plead with him. "Franken! Listen to me. I am real, but they are not! They're not real, they don't matter. Something that isn't real should not be questioned!" She tried to tell him about the madness in a way that he would think.

"Not-" a giggle cut him off. "Not real. What is real, Marie? Huh? What if all of this-" a giggle- "This _science_ bullshit isn't real, but the madness is?" Stein's few sentances really scared and worried her. _He would never say that..._

"Franken, this is not you. You would never question science. Now COME BACK!" Marie shouted as her hand flew across Stein's face, leaving a red hand print.

Stein's head snapped to his right. He looked back at her with a very confused look on his face. "Owwww why, Marie?" his words were drawn out slightly in confusion. He rarely ever spoke like that, but she could see perfect clarity in his eyes and she knew that the madness had receeded.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to hurt you, but I needed to." Marie's voice was sad and shaky.

"It's alright, I understand. Damn it... "_ I don't want her to feel sad... Think! Change the subject!_ A faint smile spread across his lips. "And by the way, it didn't hurt."

Marie smirked, "What? You think just because I'm a woman I can't hurt you? I think you forget that I am a Death Scythe."

"No, you just can't hurt me."

"That sounds like a challenge." Marie shifted her weight to her left leg and crossed her arms.

"Well maybe it was," Stein knew at first she wouldn't actually try to hurt him, but sooner than later, she might get frustrated and step her game up. "Well?"

Marie bit her lower lip as she thought of what she was going to do. _Come on, he can't be serious. Ok, maybe he is. But I don't want to hurt him... Screw it. _Marie's forearm flew up in an attempt to hit him on the side of his head, but his hand quickly reached up and blocked it. Marie's brow furrowed in frustration. She tried a different attack; This time she tried to hit him in the stomach. Stein only grabbed her fist right before it collided with his abdomen. She tried to pull her arm back for another attack, but his grip on her hand was firm.

"Oh, Marie. Looks like I won." Stein smirked. He knew this would only frustrate her more so she would really try to attack. She yanked her hand free and took a step back. She had a determined look in her eye as once again her fist flew to the side of his face. He ducked down so her arm swung over him. Then her foot slipped, and she fell. Stein reached his long arm out and grabbed the woman by her waist. As he fell back, she was twirled around so her face and his were just inches apart.

Stein let hisself fall on his back, but he rolled a little so the impact did not hurt. In the end, Marie found herself lying on top of him, their faces so close. Marie's face portrayed her nervousness while Stein just smirked. "Really though, it looks like I won." he said quietly.

Marie's amber eye darted back and forth from his left and right eyes. Stein stared at her lips. He didn't know why, and frankly, he didn't even care that all he wanted to do was kiss her. _I really don't get this whole "love" thing. _Stein's arms wrapped around Marie's slender body and held her tightly as he picked his head up and smashed his lips against hers. Marie's automatic reaction was to tense up and try to pull away, but his arms were much stronger than she was. Plus, she had to admit that she wanted to be with Stein since high school. Finally she just relaxed and and succumbed to the kiss.

Stein's hands traveled all around her torso. He didn't even know how he knew what to do, it just seemed right or natural. Marie gripped his lab coat with one hand and placed her other on the back of his neck. The kiss grew much more heated and deeper, and Stein could tell that Marie wanted more from the way she groped at his coat. He rolled on top of her and broke the kiss so he could sit up. Marie sat up with him and pushed the coat off so it pooled around his hips. Then he removed his shirt, and they continued to kiss. Finally, Marie's button-up shirt came off, and they both lyed back down. Stein continued to explore her body with his hands as he broke the kiss and moved his head down to her chest.

Marie's slender fingers travled through his grey hair as his lips planted on her collarbone. Then he moved his head up and and began sucking on her neck and she could feel his teeth lightly graze her skin. Stein kissed her lips once more before he pulled her on top of him, snaked his arms tightly around her and stood so he could carry her. She wrapped her legs around his hips and kissed him harshly as he carried her into his bedroom.

**Yeeeahhhhh sorry for almost turning this into a lemon. I just didn't know where to go with the story and this happened :P But tell me what you think, and if you have any ideas, leave them in a review! Thanks for reading :) -Mikshizels**


	18. Chapter 18

**This is for you, Marshall Lee Fan XD. This was a good idea! :)**

Stein's eyes slowly opened. Everything was blurry as he looked around the room, but he was close enough to see Marie's face just inches away perfectly clear. Her breathing was light and her eye was closed. _She looks so beautiful when she sleeps..._ Stein stroked her cheek with the backs of his long fingers as he smiled at her. He wanted to just stay in this moment forever. To have Marie Mjolnir in his arms was more than he could ask for. He has been wanting to say something for certain for a while now, but he didn't know if he could. Now, however, he was in fact certain of what he felt._ What I _feel_. _The word still sounded alian to him, but he knew that he did feel. And what he felt was something that strong that burned in his heart with fire and fury. "I love you," he whispered.

Marie's eye rolled behind her eyelid and he knew that she was about to wake up. Stein reveled in her beauty for a while longer before her eyelid slowly opened and she yawned. _Oh, Marie. You have morning breath. _For some reason, he thought that was... Cute? Marie's amber eye focused on his olives ones as she smiled slightly. Her eyelid still seemed heavy.

Once again, Stein spoke. "I love you, Marie." His words were soft, but his voice was firm. It was as if he were trying to tell her exactly how he felt with just a few simple words. _Why can't I seem to fully express myself?_ Marie's eye almost fully opened at his words. If she hadn't just woke up, she would probably be breathless. "Do you believe me?"

Marie tried to find her voice, which took several long moments. Finally, her voice croaked out. It was still a little rough, but it caught on to it's normal sound quickly. "Of course I do, Franken. I... I love you too." Her lips spread into a cute smile. Stein lightly kissed her before he settled his head back into the pillows and smiled back at her.

"What are you thinking?" Marie asked quietly.

"I was just remembering the time when you sang during our graduation party at the academy."

"Oh, but I sounded terrible..." she said as she turned her head down.

Stein lifted her chin up with his middle and index fingers so she was looking him in the eye. "No. You had the voice of an angel." Marie blushed as her cheeks turned pink. "Will you sing to me again? Please?"

"No, I sound-"

"Terrible? Not a chance." Stein adjusted his pillow so his head was propped up better. "Please, Marie? I haven't heard you sing in years."

Marie blushed some more. "I will if you promise not to laugh."

"I would never laugh at you." Stein pledged.

With a nod of her head, Marie sat up, pulling the sheet up with her to cover her chest, and breathed in deeply. She seemed nervous when she began, but after a few lines, her voice was sure and steady. Marie began to sing.

_ "We tried to walk together, but the night was growing dark. Thought you were beside me, but I reached and you were gone. Sometimes I hear you calling from some lost and distant shore. I hear you crying softly for the way it was before..._

_ "Where are you now? Are you lost? Will I find you again? Are you alone? Are you afraid? Are you searching for me? Why did you go? I had to stay. Now I'm reaching for you. Will you wait? Will you wait? Will I see you again?_

_ "You took it with you when you left. These scars are just a trace. Now it wanders lost and wounded, this heart that I misplaced._

_ "Where are you now? Are you lost? Will I find you again? Are you alone? Are you afraid? Are you searching for me? Why did you go? I had to stay. Now I'm reaching for you. Will you wait? Will you wait? Will I see you again?"_

Marie's voice faded out, leaving a terrible ache in Stein's heart. He had never felt so much emotion at once, but he was enjoying it. Her voice... It just made his heart beat pick up and it gave him gooseflesh. He _needed _to hear her sweet voice again. Stein sat up. "Marie..."

"I know... My morning voice only makes it sound worse."

"No! That was so beautiful... Promise you will sing to me again." Stein said as he took her hands in his. He waited a moment before he leaned in and kissed her soft lips. He pulled away only about a centimeter.

Marie bit her lower lip. Stein's lips spread into a genuine smile. "Franken, I think you already know this, but I need to be sure you do."

"What is it?" Curiosity and a miniscule hint of worry burned thorugh his voice.

"I have loved you ever since we were students at the academy. Do you remember the song I sang the night of the party?"

Stein thought back to that night. He had to admit that he got very drunk that night and the last thing he remembered was her singing. _Damn it, what was the name of the song?!_ "Uhh... Hymn for the Missing? I think that was it..." Then Stein realized what she just sang. "That was the song... From nine years ago?"

Marie smiled and nodded. "Yes. The reason why I chose that song was because I wanted to sing to you. I didn't think I would ever get the chance to, so I chose to do it then. And you seemed... Happy. You were only a few feet away from the stage."

"Yes..." Stein thought back to that night. He remembered seeing Marie in her flowing white dress, up on stage singing. _That's why she never broke eye contact with me... How did I not realize that?_ Her white dress... She looked so beautiful, like an angel. And with a voice to match. _I want to see her in a white dress again. Only this time, I want that dress to have a long train with a veil over her face, with her standing with me on an altar. _"Marie, I... I love you. I know that now without a doubt in my mind. All I can feel right now is you. Just you. I can't even feel... The other part of me... in the back of my head anymore. It's gone, and it was replaced by you." Even then, he still felt his words were not enough to tell her how he felt.

A small crystal tear fell down Marie's cheek and pure worry swept through Stein. "What's wrong?"

She wiped away the tear with the back of her hand. "I'm fine... I'm just happy." Marie flashed a huge smile at him.

Stein smiled back and sighed. "You know, I really don't get this whole 'tears of happiness' thing. But I guess I will learn soon enough."

Marie and Stein just sat in bed for another few minutes staring into eachothers' eyes. _I wonder if I'd be able to fix her vision and give her a new eye. Maybe, she will have two eyes instead of one at her wedding. Wow, now I'm thinking of weddings..._

"Marie, if you promise me something, I will promise you something in return." Marie gave him a questioning look. "If you sing to me again... I promise I will restore your vision." Her eye widened at just the thought of it.

"Do you... Really think you could?"

"I want to, so I will. You just have to promise you will sing to me again."

Marie's lips spread into a huge smile as a few more tears fell. She then wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you." Stein found himself smiling also with his arms around her naked torso. No, he wasn't smiling because she was naked. He was smiling because he knew that she was happy, and that _he_ was the cause of it. "I love you," she whispered in his ear.

Stein closed his eyes and held her tighter. "I love you too."

**I don't know when the next chapter will be posted, I have registration and orientation for school tomorrow so I am not sure if I will be able to write. I probably will, but that's just a heads-up. -Mikshizels**


	19. Chapter 19

"What?!" Maka's voice was filled with happieness and surpise. She stared at her teacher with wide eyes.

Marie only nodded with a smile too big for her face. "Wow! I can't believe Professor _Stein_ said he loves you!" Marie knew he wouldn't want the news of their relationship spreading through the school, but Marie had to go girl for just one moment about it. And she trusted Maka, she is a good, loyal student. But she would soon find out that even Maka needed to flip out with other girls also. "So when did he say it and what drove him to it?"

Marie froze. _Oh God, what do I tell her?! "Oh ya, we had sex then he told me." Idiot!_ "Uhh, hehe. We uh... Were doing stuff... Together." Marie muttered as her mind searched frantically searched for an explanation. However, she was too late, and Maka caught on.

"Ms. Marie! You didn't!" Maka's jaw fell to the floor. Marie looked to the ground as the blond-haired girl continued. "Wow! I guess I should have expected this sooner or later... But I was thinking later!"

"Please, Maka, don't tell anyone! If word gets out..." Marie's eye filled with worry.

Maka shook her head quickly. "No, no! I promise I won't tell anyone about that. It isn't my place."

Marie smiled at her student and pulled her into a hug. "You're such a good student, Maka Albarn." Maka hugged her back and giggled.

"So, if you just reach your two fingers in here," Stein indicated to a spot on an unconcious bird's chest where a small cut was made, "you will be able to feel the subject's heart beat. You need to take caution, however. Putting too much pressure-" Stein was cut off with the sound of someone knocking on the doorway of his classroom. "Oh, Marie. Do you need something?"

Marie simply nodded as she asked, "Can I see you outside for a moment?" Maka looked down at the couple from her desk and tried her best to suppress her fangirling. However, Liz and Patty easily saw it.

"What's got you so girly?" asked Liz.

"Oh, um, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on, Maka." Patty added in. "We know you know something. What is it?"

Maka only stared back at her team mates with a smile that she was trying to hold back which only made dimples. She shook her head in refusal. "Maaaakaaaaa tell uuusssss," Liz pleaded.

Finally, Maka caved. She couldn't take it any longer, she _needed_ to tell some one! "Professor Stein said he loves Ms. Marie!" The twin pistols' jaws dropped to floor in the same fashion Maka's had earlier that day. A few rows of desks away, Soul and Black Star watched as Maka and the Thompson sisters giggled and jumped up and down in their seats.

"What's got them all worked up?" Soul asked. He had never seen Maka act that way before.

"I have no idea," Black Star replied. "But it's starting to wierd me out... I wonder what they're looking at." The two boys looked around the room for some evidence of what the girls could be so giggly about. But all they saw was two of their teachers stopping class just to talk to eachother. _Nah, that's not it..._ Both of the boys thought at the same time.

"So, what is it, Marie?" Stein asked as he came into the hallway.

"Can I ask you something?" Marie said with her head turned to the side slightly.

"Yeah, sure." Stein put his hands in his lab coat pockets.

"This morning when we woke up together, you said you couldn't feel the madness anymore. Was that true?" Her words were firm, but they were slow to come out.

"Yes," Stein nodded his head slightly.

"Do you feel it now?"

"Well... Yes. Why do you ask?" His voice now seemed to have a bit of curiosity to it.

"Oh, I'm just trying to... uh.. Figure some stuff... Out." Marie shook off her nervousness. _I really don't want him to know what I am guessing until I am at least a little sure about it._ "Another question." Stein dipped his head a bit in agreement. "Crona has a class with you, correct?" Again, he nodded without a word. "Did you speak with him today or get close to him?"

Stein now had a confused look on his face. "Marie, why are you asking me this?"

"I... I think I know what is causing your madness to increase so rapidly." She said quietly. He had an intense yet smooth look in his eyes, as if he were telling her to go on without even saying a word. "I think it's Crona..."

"Well, yes. When Soul cut him, Crona's blood could have got in my coffee. I finished the cup after they left, so that must be how I digested it." Stein summarized quite simply.

"It doesn't have to be injected?" Marie asked curiously.

"I know, I thought the same thing. For blood to transfer, it happens through a cut or injection. In this case, however, just digesting it could get it in your system. Furthermore, it seems every time I get near Crona, the madness reaches out and grows. It's as if the blood reacts to its origin."

"And when it loses contact for a certain amount of time, it grows weaker... That would explain why the madness in Crona has died so much. Medusa is the one who gave him the black blood, and without its origin, his blood is weaker." Marie felt a thousand other thoughts rush over her, but she didn't want to take the time to go over them with Stein. There was a brief moment of silence before she continued, "So... What are you going to do?" She sounded as if she were afraid of the question. Or perhaps she was afraid of his answer.

Stein leaned his back up against the hallway wall and crossed his arms as he stared up at the tall ceiling. "I don't know... I can't drop Crona from my class, I need to keep an eye on him. We don't know if the madness in him would react to mine at any time."

"Then maybe you should stop teaching." When Stein gave her somewhat of a sad look, she quickly added, "But only for a little while."

The scientist shook his head. "No, I need to learn to just deal with it."

At this, Marie almost seemed angered. "Franken! You know what happens if it becomes too much for you!" Tears began to swell up in her eye. Her voice began to get shaky. "I can't... I can't see you like that. I hate it." The trapped tears finally broke free and fell down her cheek.

Stein stood straight up from the wall and pulled her into a comforting hug. "Shh, it's going to be alright..." He let her cry into his chest for a little while. _Marie..._ Her sobs made his chest ache, and it made him want to do anything to make her tears stop falling. _The affect you have on me is amazing... I never thought I would ever be able to feel this much emotion, let alone for another person. _Stein sighed and looked around the hallway, then at his classroom door about five feet down. He saw several of his students staring at him the woman he held in his arms in awe. When they saw him look at him, most of them ran back to their desks. The only students that stayed were Maka, Liz, Soul and another girl. While the three girls' expressions were fangirly and giggly, Soul's jaw was dropped to the floor.

_Great... Well I guess they would have found out sooner or later. And I shouldn't just wait for them to leave because they won't unless I throw a scalpel at them. _He thought drly.Stein looked down at the sobbing woman and lifted her chin so she was looking straight at him. "Listen to me, Marie. I will _not _hurt you. I can tell that is what you are afraid of." Marie began to shake her head slightly in refusal, but he pressed on. "Stop. I know you are, I can see it in your soul... Marie, I need to be able to control it. If I stay away from the black blood's origin then just go back, I won't be able to handle the madness growing again so quickly. I need to fortify my mind and just learn to deal with it. Now do you understand why I can't back down?" Marie closed her eye and nodded silently as Stein moved his fingers away from her chin and put his hand on her waist.

"I'm sorry... I don't mean to be so emotional. I just don't want to see you get hurt..." She said as she wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. It was a useless effort, however, because more tears escaped.

Stein picked his hand back up from Marie's waist and put it to her cheek, then he wiped a tear away with his thumb. "It's all right. By doing so you are teaching me how to express emotions, so I thank you for that." he fell silent for a moment before he continued, "Marie, I know you are afraid of what could happen. But I am going to find a way to make this better. I promise you that." Stein stared into her amber eye and waited for some sort of reply. When none came, Stein looked back at his classroom door. The four students were still standing there watching and giggling. Well, Soul actually just stood there in even more shock than before. Crona was also standing in the doorway.

_Damn it! I know he doesn't know what he's doing, but he certainly does know the right time to come around me. What if the madness becomes too strong? I can already feel it growing... But I can't leave Marie right now... What do I do?! _Then, Stein knew the perfect thing to make sure the growing insanity in the back of his head is suppressed._ God, am I really going to do this in front of them?! _A small, low growl escaped from him. _Screw it. _Stein lowered his head and pulled Marie's face toward his at the same time in a quick motion. Then, their lips met in a gentle kiss.

**Soooo what did you guys think of this chapter? Please tell me if I need to add something or take anything away. Like is there too much romance and not enough madness? Please tell me so I can make this better! Btw, I don't think I added this in the last author's note, so I'll tell you now. The song that Marie sang to Stein is called Hymn for the Missing by none other than the band Red (I think a lot of their songs fit Stein and Marie.) If you want to know any other of the band's songs that I think fit them perfectly, just PM me :) -Mikshizels**


	20. Chapter 20

"So, what did you need, Lord Death?" Stein asked in his usual, monotone voice.

"I have been curious about your current mental state." The tall shinigami stated. He tilted his body drastically to the side. It still did amuse and somewhat annoy Stein how this Reaper had to talk in that high pitched voice with that cheeky mask just so he wouldn't scare the living hell out of the students. Even the Death Room had to look more of a kindergarten classroom instead of an actual graveyeard.

"Oh?" Stein tilted his head slightly.

"I have been getting some odd reports lately. The first came when Spirit walked in here a few weeks ago. He looked as if he had gotten into a fight. I asked him about it and he said you blasted him with your soul wavelength."

"He wouldn't stop screaming about Maka! It was giving me a migrane." Stein retorted quickly and defensively.

Lord Death only stared back at Stein. _Why is he getting so heated so quickly?_ "Yeah, that is what I thought. Then just a few days ago, one of the custodians reported a broken mirror in the bathroom."

"So?" Stein was trying to act as if he didn't know anything about the matter, but Shinigami was not buying his act.

"I wasn't finished. The custodian said that he saw you walking out of the bathroom with blood and cuts all over your knuckles." Now the doctor's fingers curled lightly into his palms to form gentle fists, then he released them.

"Anything else?" Stein growled. _Why the hell am I getting so angry?!_

Lord Death could easily tell the man before him was beginning to boil, but this needed to be covered in case something was needed to be done. "Stein, I need you to calm down. I know this might be frustrating for you, but you need to understand that this is an important matter that must be discussed." Stein sighed heavily and removed his glasses. He then nodded in gesture for Lord Death to go on. As he spoke, Stein rubbed the side of his face roughly and slowly with the hand that was not holding his glasses. "I have been hearing some rumors of you and Marie."

At her name, Stein's eyes widened and his heart beat picked up. _Shit!_ "What about us?"

"Apparently, she came to your classroom yesterday asking to speak to you. When a few of your students looked into the hallway, you were holding her while she cried."

"And? What's wrong with that?" Stein knew what was wrong with it though. Why else would Marie go to him if something is wrong? As far as everyone else knows, Stein and Marie are merely room mates. If she had family issues, she would rather talk to someone who actually felt emotion and cared. But they had no idea just how wrong they were about that now.

"This brings us back to my original question: How is your current mental state, Stein?"

A dead silence filled the at-first-glace-eternal-horizon room. The mad man stared at the Reaper with a burning fire in his olive eyes. He didn't know why, but he was still angered by all of this. _What the hell is happening to me? Is the madness somehow channeling anger?_ "Alright, you really wanna know?! I am going _freaking_ insane! More than I already am!" Stein began pacing back and forth while he ranted. "I don't know what the hell is happening to me! I want to be ok, I want to teach. I want to be with Marie! But I have this shit in my way all of the time!" Lord Death only stood in silence as Stein raged and pointed his finger at his chest.

_Oh, my my... Perhaps he just needs to blow up. He is always holding the madness back; I am sure it causes him a great deal of stress. Now the only question is: What is causing his insanity to accelerate so rapidly?_ Shinigami continued to listen to the mad man's rants for quite some time before he finally took a huge breath and calmed hisself. Stein bent his knees and rested his elbows in them with his head in his hands. He let his shoulders relax as he closed his eyes and took another deep breath. _I need to fortify myself by not letting my emotions best me anymore. First it was happieness over riding me, now it's anger. Maybe the anger is part of the madness or the black blood, maybe it isn't. But the bottom line is it is something that only I can deal with. _

Stein stood to his full height. "I apologize, Lord Death. It was... Wrong of me to blow up like that." He was still angry, but not nearly as much as he was just before. Furthermore, he was now doing a fine job at keeping it locked up at the back of his head so he could resume his monotone expression that he has carried for years.

Lord Death waved his large paper-white hands in front of his chest. "No, no. It's quite alright, Stein. People need to release anger and stress every now and then. It is normal." Stein nodded slowly. _Normal._

"So is there anything else?" Stein asked casually.

"I need to know if you are still fit for teaching. Be honest with me, Stein. If you are not able, I can't allow you to be a danger to the students." Shinigami seemed sadded by his statement. _This is such a shame... I don't mean to be harsh, but he understands. With the skill and power he possesses, Stein could become a great threat to anyone here. If he loses control, I willbe forced to fight him until someone can bring him back. If no one can, then... I will have to kill him. _After Stein had not replied to his question, Lord Death continued asked, "Well?"

"I am able." he said shortly.

"Stein, I am sure you are. Just know that if the madness does take you again, I will need to suspend you from teaching until I know you are fit to return." Stein nodded his head in approval. He didn't want to have to do any of this, he just wanted to go back to his lab and dissect something. "Alright, Stein. You can go now."

The professor stepped out of the Death Room and into the hallway where he slumped up against a wall and slid down it till one foot was planted firmly underneath him and his other leg was outstretched. _Damn it. I need to get this under control..._

"Hey, Professor Stein," a familiar voice said from about three or four feet away from him. Stein jumped in startlement. He snapped his head up and saw none other than a certain pink-haired boy.

"Crona." Stein's heart beat began to pick up, but he took a breath and soon got it down to its normal speed. "Do you need something?"

"Yes, well, no. Uh, I just.. Uhm... How are you?" Crona seemed very nervous, maybe afraid.

_ What does he know?_ "I'm fine." Stein said casually as he let his eyes drift toward the ground.

"But... I heard you talking to Ms. Marie about how you digested my blood... Is it hurting you?" Guilt burned on Crona's worried face.

At the mention of him digesting the black blood, Stein's eyes snapped back up to Crona. "Were you eavesdropping?"

Now the boy really seemed afraid. "No, no! Maka said she heard you guys talking when you and Marie were in the hallway. I swear I wasn't eavesdropping, really!"

The professor waved his hand in dismissal. "It's fine. I just need you to not tell anyone, you got me? I can't have word of this breaking out... More than it already has." Stein could already feel the madness reaching out toward its origin. It was biting and clawing at his conciousness, desprately trying to escape. He began to breath heavily and he ran his fingers thorugh his grey hair.

"Professor, are you alright?" Crona took a small step toward him and reached his hand out; it was shaking violently.

"Crona," Stein took a short, ragged breath. "I need you to get away from me." Another breath.

"But-"

"Now!" The doctor almost yelled. The foot that he was using to prop himself up was now sliding out and he was sinking to the ground. Crona took a step back from Stein, guilt and sadness flowing thorugh him like blood. _This is my fault... This is all my fault..._ Then he bolted down the hall. _I need to get help! But wait... He told me not to tell anyone... God, what do I do?_

Stein waited till the pink-haired boy turned the corner at the far end of the hall before he made an effort to stand. _I need to go home and rest... But Marie... What if I slip and she is there? _He slowly walked down the hall, looking for someone who might be able to give him the information he wanted. While he was walking, he found a rectangular digital clock mounted on the wall next to a classroom. 5:27 p.m. _She may have gone home by now or she could still be grading papers. Either way I need to find out._ Stein made his way to her classroom to find it empty. Disappointment filled him, he wanted to see her.

Then he felt the madness surge forward. It was actually rather painful, as if something was stabbing at his brain. He fell to the wall and leaned against it while he gripped his hair and doubled over. He grunted in pain, trying not to make too much noise. Finally, the pain subsided, and he just stood there with his back to the wall, panting heavily. _What am I going to do?_ Stein left Marie's classroom and instantly spotted Azusa walking through the hallway.

"Azusa! Do you know where Marie is?" He said as he quickly walked toward her.

"Yeah, she and I are meeting at the cafe for some coffee, she's probably there by now. That is if she hasn't bailed on me for being so late. Why?" Azusa asked as she adjusted her glasses.

"Just wondering." Stein stated shortly. "I'll see you later." He could feel the madness reaching out again, trying to over power him as he began his walk down the academy hallway so he could go home. _God damn it!_ He thought miserably. The entire time he was walking home, the madness was only growing more, and by the time he opened the heavy steel laboratory doors, it was almost consuming him entirely.

Stein put almost all of his weight on the door to push it open; Fighting off the madness was weakening him. When he was inside, he fell to his knees and clawed his head with his long fingers. The pain was immense now, since when did the madness hurt? It was always more of something that just forced itself. It was never actual pain. But that didn't matter now. All that mattered was fighting for his sanity. He couldn't really even think straight at this point.

Then he heard footsteps coming from down the hall, and he knew it was only one thing: Marie.

Marie was home.

There was no one else here to protect her, and Stein's sanity was rapidly slipping away from him.

"Franken?" She had just turned the corner out of the hallway and was staring straight at him with wide, fear-filled eyes.

The giggles began at his thought: _Oh, she is going to be a bloody mess tonight._ Stein's mouth expanded to a large, teeth-baring grin.

**So you can probably tell I didn't really know where to go during the first part of this chapter, but I got it down now :) Leave your reviews on what you think or any ideas you may have. You have no idea how much it helps me. Thanks so much for reading! :) -Mikshizels**


	21. Chapter 21

"F-Franken..." Marie stuttered. The insane man before her could easily see her fear pouring out of her and he drank it in. _Oh, her fear is just to beautifully amazing. _"Franken, please. Listen, this is not you. The madness has consumed you, but you can ma-" she was now desprately trying to contain her fear, but it was a very useless effort. "You can make it out. You can f-find your way out."

Stein cocked his head and stared into her soul. How was entranced by how many different emotions swirled around it, and how pure white fear dominated all of the other emotions. The only other emotions that was behind fear was her love. "Oh, Marie." Stein began as he staggered to his feet. "You have no idea how wild you drive me. Your love... It always sits wrapped around your soul, never leaving, even when fear is trying to tear it apart. You really are a strange specimen, you know that? I could be ripping you apart right now and you would _still_ love me. Why?" A few giggles blurted out from his mouth. "Maybe we should... Uncover... The surface and see what lies beneath." The mad man smiled viciously as a steel scalpel was removed from his lab coat pocket and held in his hand. He gripped it by the blade, and he kept tightening his hold so that the blade dug into his flesh. His own blood trickled down his hand and dripped to the floor. "Yes, woudn't that be so much fun, Marie?"

The giggles... The rancid giggles of the mad man only added to her churning fear. They didn't stop. _God, please... Not again. Please, not again. I can't lose him. _Stein took a long step toward her. "Marie," the last syllable of her name was drawn out in a taunting way. "Did you promise me that you would run?" His gruesome smile never left his face.

_He remembers, yet he is doing nothing to fight it!_ "Yes, I promised you! Remember that, and remember my other promise. I promised I'd sing to you again." Her voice and hands were shaking violently and she wanted to run. She knew she could run, her natural human instinct told her she needed to. But her mind told him something else. _I know I promised you, but this is something that I know I need to do._ "Franken," Marie took a step toward him and put her hands in front of her, as if it would help calm him. "This isn't you. Remember who you are-" Severe harsh laughter cut her off.

"This _is_ me, Marie! Don't you get that?! The man you _love_ is the one who is the secondary part of this specimen." Stein held his hands out to his sides in gesture to his body. "I am the one who should be present at all times."

_He really believes that... But it isn't true. _Marie tried to take another step, but raw fear hungrily gripped her more than ever. _I'll at least stay here. I won't run._ "I can see you are trying to be brave, my little bunny... I am your wolf. Now, do you see how this is going to work out? I am going to tie you down..." He took a slow stride toward her. "Then, I am going to cut you open..." Another step. "And I will rip you apart..." Their bodies were just centimeters away from each other, as were their faces. Stein stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers. He used the same hand that the scalpel was held in; The blade waved around just milimeters away from her amber eye. "Piece by piece."

Stein used his other hand to grab hers and he held it to his chest. "Oh, sweet heart. You're shaking..." He smiled once more before he brought the scalpel down from her face to her upper thigh. "Hrmm... Perhaps I will skip the tying you down part." He said as he cocked his head. Then Marie felt the cold steel slowly enter her leg. Crimson blood immediately flowed out of the wound and she winced in pain. _I won't show how much it hurts... It will only make him feel more powered..._ However, Stein felt her hand clench and he knew that the pain was definatly there.

"Ah, the specimen is attempting to not show pain. What an odd survival tactic. Let's see how long she can last." Stein slid the scalpel down, slicing away at Marie's flesh. Her entire body shook and her eye clamped down as she ground her teeth.

"Franken. Please..." A few tears rolled down her cheek. _That's it! He's not going to stop! RUN!_ Marie tried to pull away, but the insane professor's grip on her was strong and firm. She tugged again, which only made her wound hurt even more. Again, he didn't let her go. He twisted the scalpel so it pushed her flesh around and cut at the same time. Finally, Marie screamed out in pain. This was by far the worst pain she had ever endured. Yes, she had had injuries that were worse, but it mattered now because Stein was doing it to her.

"Oh, does that hurt? I apologize, that was so rude of me." His insane giggles invaded and filled the air around them while he finally let her go. Marie fell to the ground and cupped at her wound, trying to stop the blood flow. There was already a small pool where she crumpled and groaned in pain. _Get up, you fool!_ Marie winced at the pain and more tears fell as she struggled to stand to her feet. While it was a very painful ordeal for her, Stein thought it was rather amusing.

He began laughing even more at the sight of her. "My poor little bunny. You are so afraid." Marie was now on her knees, still trying to stand. Stein lowered hisself so he was at eye level with her. He pulled her hand away from the wound and observed it as if any doctor would. He said nothing, only brushed his fingers against it. Her warm blood against his pale skin was almost a shocking color. He then put the scalpel in front of his face, watching as small drops of her blood slowly ran down the blade and handle.

"You know, I do love my scalpels. But sometimes, the blade just seems to a be a bit too small, don't you think?" Stein snapped away from her and disappeared into the kitchen with just a few very long strides. _He's giving me a chance to run..._ Marie didn't try her luck this time. Even though it cost her scores of pain, she pushed herself off of the ground and attempted to run out the front door. But the heavy metal door took a lot of her leg strength, and at this point, fear and loss of blood was making it very difficult for her.

"Marie," Stein had drawn out the last syllable in her name again. "You know you can't get very far." he was first at the walkway of the kitchen and living room, but was now quickly making his way toward her. He had in his hand a large kitchen knife. Marie felt as if her heart had stopped. The sight of seeing the man whom she loved, whom she had saved, was now about to rip her into pieces. Time seemed to slow down for Marie as she stopped trying to push open the door and just leaned on it. Everything was so slow. Stein almost even seemed to stop moving. _Why go on? There is no hope here. The man I love is gone... _

"Marie, there is something that I urgently need to do at the moment." Stein smiled viciously. "I am going to cut you open now!" Stein attempted to rush her, but she kicked him hard in the abdomen and she ran past him and down the hall. He doubled over and breathed in heavily for a few moments while Marie ran. Stein began giggling again, this was one of the most interesting experiments he'd performed in a long time. He regained his composure and glided down the hall, following her blood trail. The trail led up to the bathroom, where he opened the door to find her sitting next to the toilet, leaning agaist it. Her breathing was heavy and laboured, which meant she was suffering from blood loss. Originally, her eye was half-closed and her head was merely hanging. When Stein opened the door, her eye slowly looked up, and her head rolled back and hit the wall. Her skin was pale, and she barely moved. That gash in her leg really was quite deep.

Stein tightened his grip on the knife as he took just a few steps toward the limp woman. Her ragged breathing became more course as her heart beat quickened, yet another sign of just how afraid she was. "Franken..." Marie whimpered as the tall professor bent down and brushed some golden locks of hair out of her face. The knife reflected light and it shined in her eye for a brief moment, catching her full attention. _Of all the ways I could die... He will murder me._ Marie closed her eye and simply accepted the fact that she was going to die.

The mad man raised the blade to her shoulder and pressed it agaisnt her, quickly slicing her skin in a diagnol motion. His lips were pulled into a tight grin, his olive eyes now more of a reddish-green. More blood poured down Marie's shoulder and more of her tears fell. "Marie." The blade was now at the left side of her waist, and Stein pulled it to the right side.

Marie groaned in pain, she was losing so much blood... Stein's lab coat and Marie's long skirt were both soaked from sitting in the crimson puddle. Her skin was now almost completely lacking in color. Stein now pointed the large knife at Marie's belly.

She could feel the sharp tip of the blade poking her just above her belly button. "Let's see what your lower intestine looks like ," Stein said viciously. Marie's amber eye closed tightly as the blade slid into her about a quarter of an inch. Pain seared throughout her body, but she knew her greatest concern was the amount of blood she lost. But there was still something she needed to do... Something she promised.

Marie searched her mind for the right lyrics, struggling at the task. It was so hard to think now, and she only wanted to sleep. But this was going to save both of their lives.

"We are you now? Are you lost?" She took a shallow breath. "Will I find you again? Are you alone? Are you afraid? Are you searching for me?" Marie took another shallow breath, and she raised her hand and rested it on Stein's, the same hand he used to wield the knife. He stopped pushing it. "Why did you go? I had to stay. Now I'm reaching for you." Stein's eyes returned to their original color, and he blinked several times. Confusion was the first thing Marie saw in his olive eyes, then horror and pain filled them. She continued singing, "Will you wait? Will you wait? Will I see you again?"

"Ma... Marie..." Stein gasped. He yanked the knife out of her as his mind and heart raced each other. Her eyelid drooped closed, and she exhaled. All of her wounds were so deep... It was amazing she survived as long as she did. "No... No. No, Marie. Marie!" Stein screamed. His large hands fell on her shoulders and he shook her, trying to wake her. She only breathed very lightly. Stein put his ear to her chest and listened for a heart beat. It was there, but it was very faint.

"No, please no..." His voice trailed off as Stein picked her up and carried her limp body to his tiny clinic in the den of his living room. He placed the unconcious woman on the medical table and put an oxygen mask on her face, then used both of his hands to put pressure on her deepest wounds to stop the bleeding. _Damn it! What blood type is she?!_ _I think she once told me she was AB-, the same as me... But if I'm wrong and that isn't it, it could kill her. But if I don't do anything... I have no choice. _Stein ripped off his lab coat and sunk a syringe into the crook of his arm. Then, he stuck a plastic tube to the end of the syringe, and connected the tube with another needle and implanted it in Marie's arm. Blood was already flowing down the tube, and he got it in her vein just in time for the blood to reach the end of the tube.

Stein searched her face and body for any sign of reaction from the blood transfer. Her fingers twitched, and instantly he assumed the worst. Fear gripped his heart, it made his chest hurt. All he could do now was wait. Wait and see if she would survive the next hour... "Marie... I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry... Please, if you wake up from this... Please forgive me. I love you, I can't lose you..." His words were so slow. If they were slurred, you'd think he were drunk. Tears began rolling down his cheeks, and he choked back sobs. Stein's hands clenched into fists as he growled at hisself. _Why?! Why her?! Why couldn't it have been someone else?! Anyone else? All she wanted was to live her life happily. Why did I have to mess it up for her?_

"God damn my life to hell!" Stein exclaimed. He turned his back from her, he couldn't stand to look at what he had done to her. Her blood... It was everywhere. There was a trail of it across the living room and into the bathroom as well as down the hall. He tried walking into the living room, but the syringe tugged and moved inside of his vein. He wasn't going anywhere. Stein growled and punched a wall fiercely; the skin on his knuckles broke slightly and he heard a crunch. For a moment he thought he had broke a few bones, but he realized there were now cracks in the wall from where he hit it. Stein closed his eyes and sighed as he sunk to the floor. His knees we bent half-way to his chest, and his head dropped in his hands. Now he knew true torture: Being forced to watch as the first person he'd ever loved die.

_I'm a monster... _

Hey, guys! Everytime I write a chapter, I feel as if I have a theme song or something like that for it. So, my theme song for this chapter is Monster by Skillet. Here is a link if you wanna check it out:  watch?v=1mjlM_RnsVE Thanks for reading! :) -Mikshizels


	22. Chapter 22

_It's my fault... This is my fault. Marie is dying, and it's because of me._ Professor Stein embraced in his self sorrows on the cold laboratory floor. While it leaned limply against the wall behind him, his head was full of terrible thoughts and images: what he would do if Marie passed away. _Perhaps I'll just eat a bullet... No, she went through so much pain because of me. My end should be a living hell. Maybe I will do to myself what I did to the man who broke into the house a few days ago..._ Stein took a deep breath. All of this was too much... Just a little over a month ago, he had no care in the world for love or another person. But that one night, the night she showed at his doorstep, everything changed. Marie replaced him entirely, she taught him how to love and how to care, how to want and drive for something. If only she could have replaced just one more thing, just that one thing... Why couldn't that go too? Why couldn't she take away the menacing madness that burned through his veins? All of these thoughts rapidly flew through his brain over and over again as Stein listened to the heart monitor and several other machines he had hooked up to the still unconcious Marie.

_I tried to walk together, but the night was growing dark... Thought you were beside me, but I reached and you were gone... Sometimmes I hear you calling from some lost and distant shore... I hear you cry in suffering for the way it was before... Where are you now? Are you lost? Will I find you again? Are you alone? Are you afraid? Are you searching for me? Why did you go? I had to stay Now I'm reaching for you. Will you wait? Will you wait? Will I see you again...?_

Stein tried to stand, but his legs were quite shaky and it took him a second attempt until he was able to stand on his feet. He had been transferring his blood to Marie for the past twenty minutes. He knew he should stop soon, he was already much paler than he normally was, but something inside him screamed she needs more. If he dies, so what? It is his fault that she is lying in this bed, she should have all that she needs to survive. _I can't think like that... If I pass out, then she will be left unattended._ Stein took another few deep breaths and put his head in his hand as he leaned against the wall for support. His vision had gone black and he was extremely dizzy. It all passed a few moments later and he was able to see clearly, but he needed that needle out of his arm. "Alright," Stein whispered to himself.

He breathed heavily as he got a cotton ball and medical tape from a small metal table a few feet away and pulled the needle out then bandaged the puncture wound in his arm. When he finished, Stein sighed and looked up at Marie. The woman that lay before him... Blood was matted in her hair in a few places, and it covered her hands and the blanket he had thrown over her. _I should move her to her bed once I rest up... I don't want her to wake up on a cold medical table. _Stein's footsteps were heavy as he slowly walked over to the unconcious woman. He rested his hand on hers. It was warm and her skin had regained some of its natural color, plus it had been a little over twenty minutes since the blood transfusion had begun, so he knew the two blood types were compatible. Stein breahted in a sigh of relief. So long as he makes sure she gets proper rest, plenty of blood, and nutrition, she would survive. _She is going to be alright..._

Stein closed his eyes and nodded once lazily. His heart was beating at such a slow pace as he left turned his back to Marie and left the small clinic to the living room. He fell limply on the couch, belly down, and didn't even bother to turn on his back. His eyelids drooped and his breathing slowed, all he wanted was sleep. He knew that he should rest, he needs it. But something in the back of his head screamed at him to stay awake. _What if she needs me...?_ Stein thoughts were thick and slow like molasses. _Stay awake... Stay... Awake..._ But no matter how hard he tried, how much he fought against it, sleep was forced upon him.

Stein's eye slowly opened to reality. The steady beeps of the heart monitor buzzed around his ear. "Wha...?" Then it hit him. Recent memories of an unconcious and blood-covered Marie filled his head. Guilt wrapped around and stabbed at his chest, it was too much to bear._ I need to keep it together if I want to save her. _With a heavy sigh, Stein limped into the small clinic -he had slept on his leg in a bad position- and stood by the metal medical table that Marie lay on. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing lightly. He studied her face, checking for any signs what so ever of the blood transfusion going wrong. Fortunately, none were present. Stein then checked her heart rate; It was beating at a normal rate.

"But you're still so pale..." He said as he brushed his long fingers down her cheek. It was then that he finally noticed he had not cleaned up any of the blood. It was everywhere... All over his hands, soaked in the bottom half of his lab coat, and of course all over Marie as well as trails down the hall, in the bathroom and across the hall. Even more guilt just poured into his heart; It made him feel as if he were suffocating. "Marie... I'm so sorry..." No matter how much he said it, no matter how much he apologized, it didn't seem enough. It would never be enough. He hurt her so badly, both physically and psychologically. "Please tell me you forgive me..." Stein's voice trailed off again as a single tear rolled down his pale cheek.

He shook his head and turned his back to her. Seeing her right now only made the vicious guilt worse. _But I need to clean the blood off of her... Damn it._ With a sigh he walked across the living room, making sure not to step in the blood, and went into the bathroom. The first thing he noticed was a large pool of blood around the toilet and a knife. His sorrowful eyes grew a bit larger at what he saw. _I did this..._ Stein was so disgusted with hisself. Only an animal, a monster could do this. He sneered and whipped his head to a cabinet that held white towels and wash cloths. He picked up several of the rags then hurried from the bathroom and made his way into the kitchen for a bowl of water.

Stein's heart was pounding in his chest and a slight cold sweat was clinging to his forehead. _At least there is no blood in here._ Reaching into a cupboard, he picked up a medium- sized glass bowl, then turned on the sink faucet. He turned the large screw in his head while he waited for the water to warm, then filled the bowl half way. He then quickly walked back to the clinic, avoiding as much blood as he could. Placing the water on a small table next to Marie, he soaked one of the washrags in it.

He got the cloth out of the bowl and rung it out slightly before he washed her hands. The once white rag was now reddened by the blood. Stein dropped the cloth in the water then began unbottoning her shirt, then removed it. While most of the blood on the shirt was dried, some of it was still wet and sticky, so he assumed it had only been two or three hours since she was stabbed. Stein grabbed the cloth out of the water and rubbed it across her belly and chest, first avoiding the wound. _Why didn't I stitch her wounds up?!_ He cursed hisself for being such a fool. _What kind of a doctor am I if I can't remember these things?_ With a sigh, Stein continued to clean all of the blood off of Marie's body, finishing with her abdomen and washing her legs. Once he was finished with that, he began stitching all of the knife cuts and stabs.

Stein started with the leg wound, it was the deepest. _Considering how much blood was lost from that wound, I must have struck an artery or two._ He assumed the same motive when he got to the stab in her abdomen. _Damn... I woke up just in time to stop before I sliced into her small intestine._ The cut on her shoulder wasn't deep at all, so it could heal without any stitches. Once he did all he could do for her wounds, Stein wheeled the medical table with one hand and her IV pole and heart monitor with the other out of the clinic and down the hall. Turning the corner of the hall was probably the trickiest part.

He finally made his way to her bedroom door. _Great. How am I going to do this? I can't push the medical table in the room or blood will get on her carpet; I just got the blood stains out of the carpet from the last time I slipped into the madness..._ Even though Stein was quite strong and had much muscle mass, carrying a full grown woman with one arm and pulling an IV pole and a heart monitor at the same time was not easy at all.

Stein pulled the medical equipment next to her bed before he gently layed Marie on it. He propped the pillows up so her head had plenty of support, then grabbed a white spare blanket out of the hall clost and threw it over her. When all was done, Stein stood by her bedside, thinking of what else he should do. His first thought was another blood transfusion, which he knew was neccessary. _I should call someone too... What is Shinigami going to do? I think it's quite clear I shouldn't be teaching for a while. I shouldn't even be here... An animal needs to be caged._

"Hey, Spirit." Stein said as he stood in his kitchen, trying to keep his shaking voice even.

"Hey, Stein. What's up? You sound upset," Death Scythe replied from the other end of the phone.

"Um... Listen, I uh, I messed up. I slipped into the madness, and Marie was here..." His normally plain voice was now threatening to break.

"Woah, what? What are you saying?"

"Marie... She's hurt badly." Stein's voice finally broke and a few tears fell from his eyes. "Spirit?"

"Yeah, I'm here. I'll be there in a few minutes." Spirit's voice was filled with shock. He had never heard Stein's voice with that much emotion. With that, Stein hung up the phone. Only a few tears fell, but they were enough to prove to him just how much he cared for her. _She needs more blood. _Stein quickly walked back to Marie's room, wiping his eyes and taking long strides as he went.

Marie's eye shot up toward the door when Stein pushed it open. "Marie... You're awake." Another tear rolled down his cheek. Her eye was filled with pain and fear. Stein began walking toward her bed, but she flinched slightly. Even if she didn't mean to, he knew what it meant. _She is so terrified of me..._ "Marie, I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean... To hurt you... I wish I could take it back, but I know I can't..." Stein's voice trailed off and his eyes sunk to the floor. His heart was beating rapidly.

"Franken... It's alright. I know you didn't mean to do this. That wasn't you. It was something else that made you do it. I know you have been trying to fight it..." Marie's voice was rough and small.

"No! It's not alright... I hurt you, Marie. You lost so much blood. You could be dead by now!" His breathing was quick and heavy as he began to pace.

"Come here." Marie's order was short and simple, but it still left Stein dumbfounded. _How could she want me anywhere near her? _After several moments and he did not move, she repeated herself. "Franken, come here."

Stein took a few slow strides to her side. Marie grabbed his hand and held it in hers before she held it to her cheek and closed her eye for a moment. Stein didn't move, he couldn't. _Why...? Why is she still showing me affection even after I almost killed her?_ Stein used his Soul Perception and looked into her soul. It was weak, but it was still strong in one thing: Love. Even after everything, all of her love was still there. It didn't shatter or waver at all. Yes, fear was still wrapped around, but love still dominated her soul.

"Franken, I love you. I still and always will love you." Marie opened her eye and looked up at the tall man. "Love is not something that can just go away. It cannot be replaced by fear or hate. I know you don't understand this, but it is true. I admit that I am afraid, but not _of_ you. I am afraid _for_ you. I know that all of this time you have been examining my soul. That fear that you see may be directed toward you, but it is because I am afraid you will get hurt or too far lost in the madness." She paused and took a few deep breaths before she continued. "Now do you understand why I am still here? Why I am still speaking to you?"

Stein nodded his head slightly. He didn't fully understand, but he got the basics of it. "Marie, I... I won't be able to forgive myself for this... I told you before that if anything happend to you, I could never forgive myself."

"I know, but I want you to know and believe that I forgive you. I don't want to live without you." A long silence drifted between them. Their eyes were locked in soft contact. Stein could feel his eyes water; He was about to cry.

"I uh, I need to go get some syringes. You need another blood transfusion." Stein said quickly as he turned his head to the floor. "I love you too." He then turned his back to her and left the room. Marie sighed._ I do forgive you, Franken, and I love you. I always have, nothing could ever change that._

**So what did you guys think? I was considering doing a much more depressing ending, but I figured a lot of you guys would rather have it this way. If any of you want to check out the song that inspired me during this chapter, it is Comatose by Skillet. Please leave your reviews and opinions of the story so far, I love to hear from you guys. Thanks so much for reading! :) -Mikshizels**


	23. Chapter 23

Spirit slowly walked up to the large metal laboratory doors. He stood in front of one, loathing the thoughts that traveled through his head. _Stein, you're going to need help through this... And I have a feeling this help will not be pleasant for any of us at all. _Spirit knocked on the door a few times, although it was common courtosy to knock and wait for someone to answer the door, he knew it was kind of pointless. Stein sensed his soul before Spirit had even knocked. "Come in," a plain voice called from inside the laboratory. Death Scythe took a deep breath before he reached his hand to the door knob and twisted it. He took a step in with a dark feeling in his gut, wondering what he would find inside.

The harsh, coppery smell of blood invaded his nostrils and his eyes grew slightly larger. Death Scythe took another few steps into the laboratory living room, noticing all of the blood trails. "Stein?" Spirit called as he followed the trail that led into the clinic. He took a look around the small den, finding drops of blood on the floor next to a medical table and a dried spot of the red liquid on the floor next to the wall, probably where someone with blood-soaked clothes were sitting. Spirit's eyes narrow and his nose crinched slightly at the smell. "Stein?" He called again as he left the clinic and followed another blood trail: the one that led to the bathroom.

Something about this trail screamed something at him. Spirit didn't know what it was, but he got a very bad feeling off of it. He took slow strides, not wanting to know where this trail led. It seemed thicker, as if more blood had been spilled here. Spirit turned into the hallway, still following the trail, his heart beat getting faster and faster, until he finally reached the bathroom door. The blood trail continued beyond the door; He knew he needed to know what was inside, Marie could be dying in there. Spirit took a deep breath then turned the cold metal door knob. The door swung open slowly, revealing more blood on the bathroom floor until it hit the wall and stopped. Death Scythe gasped and took a step back.

Stein sat in the middle of a large pool of liquid crimson, one leg out stretched, the other bent upward. His elbow rested on his knee and he used the bottom of the palm of his hand to support his head. Stein didn't respond, only sat in despair and guilt. "My god, Stein... What did you do?" Spirit whispered as he stared in horror at his former meister. His grey- haired head slowly picked up to reveal something Spirit had never seen before: Stein was crying. His eyes were red, his hands were trembling, and several tears were rolling down his pale cheeks.

"I'm sorry..." Stein said as he exhaled; His voice was so shaky. "I'm so sorry," he repeated.

"Stein, where is Marie?" Spirit asked quickly, his voice low. Stein's brow furrowed and he lowered his head half way. "Stein!"

"She's in her room... Just take a left and go all the way down the hall." His voice was so small and sad, it took Spirit's horror and doubled it. Since when did Stein ever feel this much emotion? Death Scythe quickly left the blood-soaked Stein and bathroom and nearly ran down down the dark hall. At least there were no blood trails there. The door was already open by a few inches, but he still knocked as he pushed the door open further. The scent of coconuts, strawberries and vanilla mixed with the smell of the essence of life: blood.

Marie looked as if she were about to fall asleep, but her eye slowly opened and she picked her head up. She actually looked quite relieved to see him. "Hey, Marie," Death Scythe said soothingly as he went to her bedside. _Stein... What the hell did you do? She's so pale..._

"Hi, Spirit..." her whispered voice trailed off as she looked up at him. She tried to sit up, but the wound in her abdomen sent hot flashes of pain throughout her and refrained her from doing so. Marie lay back again and groaned.

Spirit's hand was already on her arm, ready to help her in any way he could. "Hey, hey, stop. It's alright, just relax and rest." he said as his hand lightly pressed down, signifying he wanted her to not strain herself. "Relax," he whispered again. _Damn, if this situation were just a little different, you'd think I were trying to get in her pants. Crap, stop thinking like that!_ Spirit mentally scolded hisself. Fortunately, Marie hadn't noticed any sign of his bad thinking. He crouched and sat on the balls of his feet with one hand on the edge of the bed, the other on Marie's pale hand. _She feels cold..._ Spirit reached for the blanket and pulled it up, making sure it covered her entire body all the way up to the upper half of her chest.

"Thank you," Marie's small voice broke. Her eye was beginning to water, and Spirit was instantly sitting on the bed next to her, leaning on the pillows. He then slid his forearm under her neck and planted his hand on her shoulder, then scooted closer to her, trying to comfort to hurt and frightened woman. No tears had fallen just yet, but they were very close to spilling over and he knew it.

"Marie, I need you to tell me what happened..." Death Scythe's voice trailed off. _Damn it! That was too soon._ Although, Marie surprised him with an answer just a few moments later.

"Well, I came into the living room, and he was slipping... I tried to bring him out of it, but I was too late. He was falling too fast..." Marie's voice broke and her tears finally escaped her amber eye. "I tried to save him, but I couldn't."

Death Scythe continued to soothe her by stroking her cheek and tightening his grip on her shoulder. "I know, it's alright." He waited a long moment, debating whether or not he should press her for more information._ I could ask Stein, but who knows what he really remembers... But then, he did clean her up, so I'm assuming he would know. _Spirit made up his mind. He couldn't ask her anything more about what happened. It was too much of a sensitive topic, especially at the period in time they were in. Spirit looked down at Marie, not wanting to leave her side. This was a hurt woman who needed comfort. Of course he would be the one to do the comforting. But still, he needed to find out what happened so he could report back to Shinigami. Spirit waited till Marie stopped crying, then he wiped away her tears. "Hey, I need to go talk to Stein and figure everything out. I'll be back before I leave, alright?" Death Scythe said to her with a reassuring look into her amber eye. Marie nodded and inhaled. Spirit caught her completely off gaurd by gently kissing her on the forehead. If she were not hurt and suffering from blood loss, she probably would have been dumbfounded. Spirit stood from the bed and smiled at her before he left the room.

Death Scythe began his walk down the hallway, not wanting to look into the bathroom again. But if Stein was there, he needed to know. Without stopping, Spirit quickly scanned the bloody scene for any sign of Stein. No one there._ Thank God..._ Spirit turned the corner into the living room where he found the grey-haired man sitting on the couch. His shoulders were slumped forward, his legs were spread apart and his hands were hanging limply between his thighs with his head dropped. Death Scythe took slow, average sized steps toward the scientist. When he reached the couch, he took a seat next to him and exhaled heavily through his nose.

"I need to know what happened." Spirit said simply. He tried to use no emotion, figuring it might help Stein somehow. However, his tactic failed in a result of Stein not responding. "Stein, I need to know." When the professor still said nothing, Spirit got impatient and raised his voice. "Stein!"

"I stabbed her, alright?! What else could I have done to make her lose so much blood?!" Stein's voice was harsh and somewhat violent. But behind it all was raw guilt.

"Where?" Death Scythe's voice was now calmer and lower.

"Upper thigh and abdomen. There are also several cuts around her body." Although the scientist's voice was now much calmer, there was still guilt and self disgust. There was a long moment of silence and Stein leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees with his head in his hands. "I hurt her, Spirit. You saw her. You saw all of the blood... That pool that I was sitting in in the bathroom was her blood. That is _Marie's blood_... She says she forgives me, but how could she? How could she even want me anywhere near her...? I don't understand, Spirit..."

"I do." His words were so short and simple, but it got Stein's full attention. "She loves you, man. I'm sure you know this by now. Any old fool could figure it out, even you. Marie has loved you ever since we were students at the academy."

"Yes, yes, I know that. But what I don't get is _why_? Why would she still love me? She said that love is not something that can simply go away or be replaced. But I am still stuck in the same place, trying to figure out why it can't just go away." Stein sat up and looked at his former weapon. "Why can't Marie just stop loving me and go somewhere else, somewhere safe? Why is her love so strong?"

Death Scythe took a long look in Stein's eyes, knowing that he was completely confused and lost. The weapon smiled and took and breathed in. "I don't know."

Stein's expression was now really confused, even more so than before. "You don't know? How could you not? _You_ of all people, how could you not know?"

"To be honest, Stein, I don't think anyone knows. Love has always been the most complicated thing in the universe."

"No, the human brain is the most complicated thi-"

"Stein," Spirit cut him off, "Even love is more complicated. You know how I know that?" He paused, watching as Stein looked at him intensely, wondering what his answer could be. "I know that love is more complicated because you don't understand it. You know how the human brain works, you know what it needs, how it processes. But you don't know anything about love. You don't get how it can withstand anything, even something like this." Death Scythe spread his hands out, palm up, in gesture to the blood soaked laboratory. Stein dipped his head and exhaled. "It's alright to not understand something. Especially something that everyone has been trying to fully understand ever since the universe was created."

A long silece drifted between them. Stein seemed as if he were on edge with his leg shaking and his breathing quick. "What are you thinking?" Spirit asked him.

Another short silence followed before Stein spoke his mind. "What is going to happen to me?"

Spirit's brow furrowed and he turned his head slightly. "What do you mean?"

"I mean what is Lord Death going to do? Obviously with my current state I shouldn't be teaching anymore, and I shouldn't be able to be alone in the lab. What is Lord Death going to make me do?"

Death Scythe's expression grew a bit dark. "I'm not sure... But I do need to report back to him."

"I understand." Stein's expression was very sad, he looked as if his guilt had only tripled in size.

Spirit rested his hand on the professor's shoulder. "I'll tell you as soon as I get some imformation on what is going on, ok?" Stein nodded. "Alright. Well I should get going then. I'm gonna go say goodbye to Marie then head out." Death Scythe said as he stood. Stein nodded again.

"Thanks, Spirit."

"No problem." Death Scythe replied as he made his way back to Marie's room. When he got there, the woman was asleep. Spirit's expression grew even darker, and his chest felt as if it had pressure on it. He went to her bedside and began stroking her cheek with the back of his hand. "I'll see you soon, Marie."

**Hey sorry for a boring chapter, but as always, it will mean something in the future plot. If you have any ideas, **_**please**_** let me know. It would help me out a lot because I need some! Thanks for reading as far as you have :) -Mikshizels**


	24. Chapter 24

"No... Not you... The black blood... Not you... Marie..." Stein's words were very slow and sluggish as he spoke in his sleep. Vivid dreams of things he didn't want to ever think about thundered in his subconcious.

_ He was falling... Falling into a river. His face was up toward the black and purple sky while his back was downward. His back would be what part of his body he would land on should he hit the water or ground. The same demonic creatures that always taunted him before were swirling around him, whispering. But the whispers were not the same. "You see? You can't hold it back now. You know that. Even when you had your precious Marie by your side, you still were not able to fight back."_

_ "You're wrong! I was able to hold back plenty of times!" Stein screamed back at the demons as he continued falling. Anger was beginning to pour into him. His muscles clenched and tightened. _

_ They all giggled insanely. "Oh, Stein. That may be true, but eventually, you will grow tired of this pointless game. In the end, we will take over. You will fall, and you will never get back up. You know this."_

_ "No! I have a reason to keep fighting! So long as I have that reason, I will _not_ fall! I will _not_ be defeated!" Stein's chest felt as if it were about to burst from what he thought was lack of oxygen, and his gut had a ticklish feeling in it from the negative gravities from falling. He inhaled deeply and some of the bursting feeling in his chest went away. However, his clenched muscles were beginning to contract further, and sharp pains shot through them._

_ "What's your reason, Stein? Your precious little Marie?" The creatures' whispers were all taunting, menacing. _

_ "Shut up! You already know!" His anger was now really starting to boil over. He wanted to rip something apart, destroy something. He wanted to dismember something with an ax or a chainsaw just so he could see blood fly everywhere... Now he seemed to be falling even faster._

_ "That's it, Stein... That is how you should be. Isn't this so much easier? Now you and your little Marie can dismember and bathe in your victims' blood under the moonlight together." _

_ "What...? Marie would never do that! She isn't a monster!" Confusion seeped its way into Stein's head as his muscles continued to tremble with hot flashes of pain._

_ "Oh, really?" The whispers asked questioningly. Then, Stein heard it. He heard that voice, almost similar to a bird's chirp, call out to him. He was now so close to the river... Just a few more moments and he'll hit the water. _

_ "Franken..." Marie's sweet voice rang in his ears._

_ "Marie!" Stein's head snapped to the left where he saw Marie, standing on a large floating grass mound. It was about twenty feet in diameter with a large oak tree with beautiful green leaves and a small creek running from a hollow at the bottom of the tree trunk and going down the grass until it spilled over the edge of the area and fell into the river. _

_ "Franken, come back to me." Her words were so soothing, so sweet._

_ "Marie..." He whispered to himself. "I want to come back to you..." Then he was no longer falling. He was lying on his side, naked. The leg that he was not lying on was at a ninety degree angle, his knee coming toward him; His other leg was casually outstretched. He lay there, panting heavily with the blades of grass rubbing against his skin. Then he felt her touch, her soft hands carressing his upper arm, shoulder and neck. _

_ She was sitting on her knees, bending over with her lips just millimeters from his ear."Shh... It's alright. I have you; nothing will happen to you now." Stein breathed in a sigh of relief. He was safe now, he was not falling anymore. At first, he felt somewhat awkward having her so close with him not wearing any clothing whatsoever. But that awkwardness soon faded away as he realized just what she had done for him. Marie stopped him from falling into the river of God knows what, and she soothed his spasming muscles, causing the hot flashes of pain to melt away._

_ "Marie..." Stein closed his eyes and took another breath through his nostrils. Then they returned._

_ "Stein... How much longer do you think this can last?" His eyes shot open as the whispers continued. "You've already infected her. How much longer will she be able to hold on to her own sanity?"_

_ "What?" Stein picked his head up and stared at Marie in horror. Her face, her beautiful face... Was now distorted with the face of a Kishin. Her mouth grew into an overly large grin, baring what little teeth she had as saliva dripped down her chin. The once green leaves began turning a sickly reddish- green, the same color that his eyes were right after he pulls out of the madness. Then the creek caught fire as if it were gasoline and a cigarette were dropped in it. Stein sat up quickly, rapidly crawling away from something that should be Marie. _

_ "Don't you get it? After you hurt her, after you almost _killed_ her," The creatures added great emphasis to the word 'killed', "you infected her. You were trying to save her by giving her your own blood. But what is in your blood, Stein? What is taking over?"_

_ Stein's eyes grew wider and his heart began beating rapidly. His mind began racing as tons of emotions began flooding into him: regret, self-disgust, pain, guilt. "What have I done...?"_

_ "You saved her, though! She would have died if you had not given her your blood."_

_ "That is not saving her!" Stein's eyes darted across the insane realm he was trapped in. The demonic creatures were now crowding around him, their voices creating a toxic mixture of whispers. All of the emotions flooding in, all of the whispers, knowing the fact that he had doomed the only person he had ever loved to utter destruction was too much. _

_ Marie began limping directly to him, bubbly giggles radiating from her lips. This person, no, this _thing_ was _not_ Marie. This _thing_ was something that his subconcious created, and the madness took that advantage and used it against him. Marie, no, _it_, was now quite close to him. It reached its hand out with trembling fingers; If it were to take just another step, it would be close enough to just barely touch his face. _

_ The whispers kept calling out to him. They didn't stop, it was making the little ground he sat on shake. Soon, Stein felt movement in the grass, and he looked down to see it all crumbling away. The only thing that was keeping him from falling was now falling apart, and he was about to drop. A large chunk of dirt and grass- the grass he was sitting on- broke off, and he fell. In quick motion, he reached his arm up and grabbed a chunk of grass. It supported him for a few seconds, but it soon broke off and he began falling once more. Stein then felt his muscles clenching again, and he loathed the idea of the searing pain that would soon come. _

_ "Marie!" He screamed out. He was now just a few feet away from the surface of the water... So close... Stein then felt the water just barely touch his bare skin. _

He shot up from his bed, heart pounding with a cold sweat, and stood trembling in the corner. He looked around his dark room in confusion feeling very fortunate to have left his bedside table lamp on. Several minutes passed by, but to him it felt like all night, while he sunk into the corner. He fell to the floor, flinching at how cold it was against his skin. _Wait... Why is it so cold?_ Stein looked down at his body. _Where are my clothes...?_ His eyes slowly drifted around the dim room till he found black pants on on the floor just a few feet away from his bed.

Another few minutes passed by as he dwelled over his dream. It was so vived, so real. He could swear that he could actually hear Marie's voice, he could actually feel the pain of his muscles spasming. Then he remembered._ I need to run the tests immediately. If she really does have black blood in her, I need to find a way to cure it or maybe even extract it somehow... But... How...?_

**Helloooo to all my readers. Sorry I haven't uploaded a chapter as fast as I usually do. I just started school today and I didn't have a chance to at all over the weekend. The chapters will now probably be uploaded on weekends. Anyway, what do you guys think this dream means? Could it actually be what you think it is? Or could it be just Stein's subconcious running wild again? Leave your creative ideas or opinions! Thanks for reading! :) -Mikshizels **


	25. Chapter 25

Later on that night after Spirit had left, Stein was taking shallow breaths as he stood in the dark hallway in front of Marie's bedroom door. He didn't want to go in, he only wanted to sit in his room and decide whether or not he preffers being monotone with no emotion whatsoever and totally oblivious to what other people really think, or if he'd rather feel emotion like normal people and live with the immense guilt. At any given time before Marie came to him several weeks ago, he would have chose the formal. However, her mere presence changed his entire perspective of psychic life and emotions. He always thought that humans do not truly need another person to survive, infants not withstanding, but she taught him otherwise. _I can't let her fall into the madness. For what I have already done to her, it is my responsibilty to help her out of this and poissibly cure her..._

Stein took in a heavy breath and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to figure out what he would say when he came through the door. _Screw it..._ He reached for the door knob and twisted it then pushed the door open. "Hey, uh, Marie. I need to te-" Stein stopped completely when he stepped in the room and saw Marie. She was standing next to her bed in nothing but black panties, trying to put on a bra, but it seemed to cause her pain. _She has to twist her abdomen a lot..._ When she heard his voice, she snapped her head up and covered her chest with her forearms.

"F- Franken. You should really knock before you enter..." Her face was turning a bright red, proving that she had plenty of blood in her body, and her hands were shaking.

"I'm sorry," Stein gasped as he turned and was about to walk out, but he stopped. "Do you need help?"

"No!" Marie gasped. "No, I can do it myself..."

"Marie, I can tell it hurts you. Now, do you need help?" His voice was quite and soothing.

"No, really. I can do it myself." She was now beginning to bend her leg and straighten it out then repeat the process several times, and he could tell she was feeling very nervous.

"I think you forget that I am a doctor and I know all about human anatomy. So you needn't feel embarressed. If you really don't want me to, I won't. But if it hurts you, Marie, let me help you." The end of Stein's last sentance almost had a pleading tone to it. Marie's once red cheeks began to return to their normal peachy color as she nodded and relaxed her arms a bit. Stein's long legs took a few strides to her and looked down to her. He put his hand on her forearm and waited till she gave him the bra. She relaxed her fingers and used them to hold the bra out; as he took it, he looked into her amber eye. Stein wanted to be like this forever, to just be with Marie when she needed him and help her. He just wished the circumstances were different and he was not the reason why she needed the help.

"Can you, um..." Marie looked at him for a moment, confused, before she understood him and slipped her arm through the strap. He then placed the cups over her chest and repeated the process with the other strap. Once they were in place, Stein moved behind her and hooked the clips of the chest strap. As he went to her backside, an odd feeling began running through an area below his waist. He had only felt this a few times before; One of those times was right before he and Marie made love.

Marie breathed in to what seemed to be a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"No problem." Stein put his large hand on her bare shoulder, and a smirk spread across his face. He lowered his head so his lips were just a few inches away from her ear. Besides, it's not like I haven't seen you naked before." Now his lower organ was hard, and it was bulginf against his pants. Thoughts and images began running wild through his head, images of Marie's slender, naked body underneathe him, thoughts of how much he wanted her. "Marie..." he whispered in her ear. Stein's eyelids lowered, and he gently kissed her neck. Now the the temptation was getting stronger, and his long fingers toyed with the back clip of her bra before he unsnapped it.

"Fr- Franken, what are you d-doing?" Marie's breaths were now quick and shallow. He didn't answer, only continued to kiss her neck, his lips getting lower and lower to her chest with every kiss. Finally, his lips met her collarbone. Should he have been any shorter, he would have had to go around her to reach her chest. However, his tall body only gave him easy access to her front just by hunching his shoulders and reaching his neck over her shoulder. Stein continued to kiss her, getting closer to her breast, untill something in his head clicked. _No. I came her to tell her the black blood is in her body and could spread, not to give in to temptation and have sex with her. _He breeathed in a light sigh before he stood up and clipped the back strap of Marie's bra in place.

"I, uh... I apologize, Marie. That was unnessessary." He tried to keep his voice emotionless, but dissapointment rang through it cleary.

Marie began breathing normally, but it was still a bit shallow. Stein took his hand off of her shoulder and took a step back, wishing the urge in his pants would cease. Marie looked down at her bed and picked up a yellow tank top and slid it down her torso before she walked to her dresser and pulled out some black pajama pants. "Marie?"

"It's alright, Franken. Everyone gets that way during these types of situations." She attempted to bend over to put the pants on, but she winced in pain and tightly shut her eye.

"Marie," Stein took a step toward her. She said nothing, only put a hand up and shook her head. "Marie, I promise... I won't do anything." She sighed as she considered his help. A few moments passed, and the urge that Stein felt was still there. Finally, she nodded. He swallowed, scolding himself for overstepping his boundaries as he stalked over to her. She stood straight up and put her hands on his shoulders for balance as he bent his knees. He had to fight with every fiber of his being to not grab her hips and kiss the inside of her thighs. Marie lifted her left leg, wincing as sharp pains came from the stab wound in her right thigh.

Stein quickly slid the pants sleeve up her leg before he repeated the process with her right leg. Then he stood, loathing the ordeal of pulling the pajama pants up so it covered her genital area and her rear completely. "Thanks." She said quitely. Stein nodded in acknowledgement, still fighting the wild urge to rip her pants off, then took a step back, hoping that she wouldn't notice the large bulge in is pants. But sice it always seemed the universe was conspiring againt him, she just so happened to study him, and her eyes fell upon his erection. _Oh... So that explains why he is being so stiff... OH GOD THAT SOUNDS SO WRONG IN THIS SITUATION! _Marie's cheeks started to turn pink, but she took a deep breath and tried to remain completely calm. "So, was there something you needed?"

Stein's forehead was now slightly moist with sweat. "Yeah, I uh... I need to tell you something." HIs face seemed to darken, and he looked down almost sadly.

A moment passed while she waited for him to go on, but sshe was feeling a bit impatient. "Yes? Franken, what is it?"

His head remained down. "I gave you a blood transfer so I could save you..."

"Yes, and you saved me. Why do you seem upset about it?"

"I don't know if the matter should be classified as 'saving.'" Stein said quietly.

Marie cocked her head and her brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"I... I spread the black blood to you, Marie." The room fell into a dead silence for a long while. Marie's expression was chaotic, and Stein could see her soul bursting with horror and fear. "Marie?"

She took another long while to respond, and her eyes began to water. "Wh-... What?" Marie's breathing now seemed labored and a tear threated to break free.

"I'm not finished." He added quickly. "I am going to find a way to supress it, maybe even extract it. There is also a possibility that it won't even affect you."

"What do you mean?" Her words were fast and quiet.

"For some reason, Maka is unaffected by the blood. It still lives inside her, yet she has the power to tap into it. She has never mentioned feeling any sign of madness, and I have never seen anything like it in her soul."

"But..." Marie stepped away from her closet and slowly sat on her bed, feeling the matress slightly give way to her weight. "What if it does affect me? What if... I go mad?" Her voice was now shaking, as were her hands.

"I will help you through it. I will not let you fall."

"But I told myself the same thing about you!" Her voice broke, and a tear dropped from her eye.

Stein was searching rapidly for something to say to her, for something that could comfort her. But he still was very new to all of the emotion and people skills, and all he could come up with was things that were scientifically based. "I know what to look for. If I see anything out of the ordinary, I will stop whatever I am doing and I will make sure you are not overcome with madness. Furthermore, I can see souls. You can't. When I look at Crona's soul, I can actually _see_ the madness in him. When Asura was revived, I could see his madness everywhere, I could even feel it. No one else really knew what they saw or felt when Asura was revived... No one knows what madness truly _is._ But I do. I know because I live with it, I can see it in my own soul... But, Marie," he paused for a few moments, and his dark expression lightened. "I can't see it in yours... All I see in your soul is worry, pain, fear, and... Love. That is all I see." Stein now seemed saddened again and he sighed. "However, there is still something wrong with your soul."

A spike of worry shot through her. "Wh- what is it?"

Stein locked his sad, olive green eyes with Marie's wide, amber eye and a short pause drifted between them before he continued. "You're not... You're not happy anymore, Marie. I worry that you will never be happy again..."

"That's not true!" Her voice was quite firm and somewhat loud, surprising him. "I will be happy again, Franken, because one day, you and I will be living our normal lives once more. We will go on missions from Lord Death, we will teach at the academy." A random spike of confidence wrapped around her soul, wavering every couple of seconds as if she doubted it. However, it remained there.

"How can you be so sure? What if you slip into the madness, and I can't bring you out? What if the same happens to me? Huh, Marie?" Her lower lip quivered and even more sadness burrowed its way into her now complex soul. _Shit! Why am I being so negative?!_ Stein sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to shoot you down like this. I'm just... I'm just so used to thinking about all of the possible outcomes of an experiment. I-"

"Is that how you see all of this? As an experiment?!" Marie now sounded angry, and her soul confirmed it.

"No, no! I was just stating that I have spent my entire life judging things on their possible outcomes that I now do it involuntarily... Look, I'm sorry, Marie. I know that I have screwed you over so much here, so I need to find a way to help you. I-" Something odd from the living room disturbed him, cutting him off. His head snapped to the door.

"Franken, what is it?" Marie asked curiously with worry itching at her voice. Stein shushed her and put a hand up about mid- torso to signify her to be quiet, then immediately stalked out of Marie's room and down the hall, where he stopped just before the shadow of the hallway ended. Should he take just a few steps forward, he would be revealed by the light of the living room. By using soul perception, he scanned three human souls, each with bad intentions, that he had never seen before.

"Where is he?" One the the souls, a man, asked quietly.

"I don't know, the place almost seems empty." Another man stated.

"No, this guy is here." The last soul, another man, said dryly. Stein looked down the hallway and saw Marie standing there, putting all of her wieght on her left leg. With all he could see- the hallway was quite dark- her brow was furrowed and she looked as if she were about to come toward him. Stein pushed his hand toward her several times, hoping that she would get his message not to leave the room. Marie nodded and took a small step back, but she never left the doorway. Stein turned his attention back to the three men in the living room.

The third man continued on, "This guy killed Desmond! We are going to find him, and we are going to butcher him to death."

"I still don't see how you believe this is the guy that killed him," the first man remarked.

"I told you, dumbass! Desmond told us that he was going to smash the place next to the cemetary because he heard of some big bad insane dude who loved there. Well guess what? This is the place, and Des hasn't been back in weeks. Isn't it obvious what happened?"

"Yeah, but he still could have skipped town."

"He wouldn't do that without telling us," the second man remarked.

Stein sighed heavily in annoyence. If these guys were here to kill him, they should have argued about who cares what before they actually broke into his laboratory. At the sound of his heavy breath, all three men flipped around and stared into the hallway. Because it was late at night, the hallway was almost pitch black. Plus, the living room lamp was on so their eyes were not accustomed to the dark. They all bent their knees slightly and raised their arms in a fighting stance, each of them holding pocket knives.

Stein chuckled at them in the dark. "You know, you boys really must be as stupid as your little friend to only carry _knives_," he stepped out of the hallway and into the light, "and prepare to kill the most powerful meister in the world in his own home."

** Hey guys, I apologize if the chapter seems boring, I am really tired from school. (High school sucks!) But if you have any ideas, you know what to do :P Thanks for reading, and remember: Everything in the world is an experimental test subject! -Mikshizels**


	26. Chapter 26

**This chapter is dedicated to everyone who is dying for a fight scene and all who have read this far. Thanks so much, you guys are awesome! Now... Onward to the battle!**

The three men who broke into the laboratory all stared at Stein in pure hatred, rage and fear. If a regular human, someone who was not a meister nor weapon, were to see any of these intruders, they'd run away and hide. Unless, of course, they had the courage to fight. But even so, these men were quite intimidating, and Stein could tell they could probably beat many different men in a fight. However, Stein was not one of those men. If only they knew it... Two of the men, the one on the far left and the middle, had short black hair, the formal which came up to a spike in a swift slope at the hair line of his forehead and the other was completely unstyled. The man on the right had somewhat of a punk rocker type of hair style, but it was still short. All were clad in black, even the bandanas they wore on their faces were of the same shade of color.

The man in the middle's hand was shaking ever so slightly, but Stein easily noticed it. "Oh, you are afraid." Stein remained expressionless. Marie was in her room just down the hall and he was rather tired, so he really was not in the mood for any usual delinquit's scwabblings. The man released an odd sound from his throat, it was somewhat of a growl. His eyes full of rage, he rushed at Stein with his knife, as did the others. The man on the left was quicker than the others, the man in the middle being the slowest.

Stein decided to just simply play with the men. For some reason, their anger was amusing to him. First, one of the men swiped at his face, and Stein bent backward so the blade flew over him. The second attack, one from the man on the right which came only a second after the first, tried to stab him in the abdomen. The tall doctor only jumped backward, and his attacker lost his balance and began to fall but he quickly regained his balance. Then the last attack, the one from the man in the middle, was an attempt to slice diagonally down his chest. Stein only stepped to the side and laughed inside as the man actually did fall on his face. On any normal day, he would have laughed out loud. But today, he kept his exterior completely plain. As several waves of the mens' attacks were hurled at Stein, he kept on dodging and thought of the reasons why he shouldn't _really_ fight back.

_Marie has already witnessed enough bloodshed in this house. Furthermore, if she hears too much fighting, she might come out. But then, I actually _do _need to fight back so she will be safe... Damn it. I was really enjoying messing with these dumbasses. _As several more attacks sprang forth, one of the men finally succeeded in injuring his target. The man with the punk hair style had managed to slice his arm rather deep, down from his shoulder to his elbow. Stein tried to stifle any sounds of pain, but a grunt belowed from his throat and the men continued on with their assualts. A minute passed without anymore successful cuts or stabs, but Stein's luck was beginning to turn. These men may be stupid as hell, but Stein did have to admit they were quite good fighters. Actually, "good" was an understatement.

They were all fast and agile with more than decent muscle mass, and they knew excellent fighting strategies. All three of them were soon able to predict Stein's fighting, so they could easily tell what assualt he was going to use next, and when he was going to defend himself. _They all must have had the same instructers. _Stein observed as he continued to try to escape the blades.

Stein was mainly jumping backward and to the side silently so to not give Marie reason to leave her room, trying to evade all of the blades. However, he bumped into the coffee table and one of his coffee mugs fell to the hard grey ground, shattering loudly. White porceline flew everywhere, shrapenal stabbing into the calves of his pants. The glass hadn't gone completely through, but they did scrape and poke him everytime he moved. At the sound of the cup breaking, Marie poked her head out of her room.

"Franken?" She called worriedly. All four of the men stopped, the three intruders smirking.

"Oh, who is that?" One of the men spoke through his bandana and turned toward the hall. He looked back at Stein who was still remaining expressionless, but inside he was burtsting with anger. The man looked back at Stein, then began walking toward the hall. "Keep him busy."

While one of them stalked down the hall, two of the men were trying to fight Stein. One of them managed to get behind him where he wrapped his arms around Stein's throat and began pulling him down. Even though Stein was quite strong, this man was pretty strong himself. He almost even equaled the doctor. While he pulled Stein down, the other man sliced at Stein's abdomen, creating a long slash across his belly. Stein hissed in pain, more anger pouring into him.

"FRANKEN!" Marie's screams pierced Stein's ears, and his eyes widened, more anger pouring into him. This damned soul that was pulling him down now had Stein trying to hold himself up on his heels. The muscles of his thighs began to burn from holding himself up- The man holding him was only doing that: holding him down. He didn't offer any support though. The sharp pieces of glass that stuck into the back of his pants were now starting to nick his calves.

A volcano of rage erupted in Stein, giving him the strength the break away from the damned soul behind him and blast the other attacker away with a powerful soul purge. He hit a bookshelf, causing it to fall over on top of him. The other intruder ran to the man that was crushed by the bookshelf, yelling out and cursing. If Stein were not so pissed off or determined to save Marie, he would have guessed the men were brothers or very close friends. As Stein bolted down the hall to Marie's room, he could hear Marie scream and sob; his anger was now boiling over so rapidly causing him to completely forget about the porceline cup shrapenal that was digginf into his legs.

By the time Stein had reached her room, Marie was on her knees, the intruder clad in all black shoving his knife against Marie's throat. His fingers were laced through the roots of her blond hair, gripping her tightly. Tears fell from Marie's uncovered eye infinately. Stein stopped dead in his tracks the moment he saw the knife, staring in horror at how her skin just barely went over the blade. Just one movement could slice her skin.

"Now," the man started calmly, "You are going to get on your knees, with your hands on your head." Stein nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving the threatening knife as he did exactly what he was ordered.

"What do you want?" Stein asked, his voice low and dangerous. His eye twitched in anger, and his hands trembled.

"Oh, were you not paying any attention earlier? Or did you just not hear? You killed Desmond, you bastard!" His voice began to rise, but he soon composed himself by taking in a deep breath. "You killed my brother."

Stein's anger was still continuing to expand and overflow. "Your brother broke into _my_ house and attempted to kill the woman you threaten now!" He was trying to keep his voice even and low, but it was a useless effort.

The other man paused for a moment, rage burning in his eyes. His voice a whisper, "You killed my brother."

"Fr- Frank- ken..." Marie bawled quitely. The man pulled her hair up, causing her to whimper in pain.

"Shhh..." he pulled the knife a few milimeters away from her throat to the point where it was just barely touching her skin, then gently slid the blade up so the tip was resting next to her uncovered eye. He then bent his knees and sat on the balls of his feet behind her. "Hey, sweetheart." the man whispered in her ear. "How about... I gouge out your eye? That way I can kill your little boyfriend here, and you won't have to watch?" Marie's eye shut tightly as more of her tears continued to fall.

Stein never let his olive eyes stray from Marie. How much more fear and pain could she withstand? Stein himself had already dumped tons of said feelings on her, and now this... Marie may be a strong person, and she may be a Death Scythe, but she was also a woman. Just how much longer could she go on before she falls apart and gives up? "Marie..." Stein whispered. His voice was barely audible, but she had heard it. Marie's eye opened and met his green ones.

When their eyes made contact, Stein's eyes were filled with anger and despair, almost the same as Marie's. The only difference was the hot rage. Stein narrowed his eyes and pressed his lips together as the man that threatened her life continued to whisper in her ear, his face pushing into her hair. Stein slowly began to move his arm from behind his head so his hand was visible, then pulled it into a tight fist. Marie blinked and twitched her upper lip in response, and Stein knew she got his message.

Right before Marie executed Stein's plan, the man that was behind her snapped his head up and was about to yell something and possibly slice her with the knife. However, he was too late. Marie had already thrown herself at Stein, turning into a hammer as she flew. Stein lunged forward and grabbed the hilt of her in weapon form, preparing to bash this man's head in to the ground for threatening the women he... Loved. _The woman I love..._

Both men glared at eachother furiosuly in a deadlock. Stein's olive eyes burned with a certain fire, the fire that only the rage of hell could bring forth. The man who stood before him seemed intimidated by the towering doctor- he seemed as if he just noticed who he was dealing with, not to mention how tall Stein was- but he never backed down. "Leave this premises," Stein growled as his recently gained enemy stood straight up and raised his blade in preperation to defend himself. "Or I will rip you apart."

Through the entire ordeal, this intruder who seemed to be very well composed was gradually losing his self control. After a few excrutiatingly long moments of nothing but staring eachother down, the man finally broke. It started with him pacing, cursing at Stein and himself. Then he stopped in his tracks, and he held his breath. Stein tried to predict what the man would do, but at this point he figured anything could happen.

The man screamed out and launged at Stein with the knife, attempting to slice his face. The doctor ducked, letting the blade pass over him and swung the hammer into the attacker's side. He flew into the wall and hit the ground, lying on his right side. Stein raised Marie, the hammer, over his head and prepared to smash the intruder's skull in, but he stopped. _This man was simply avenging his brother's death. If it were for Marie, I'd do the same... Plus this is Marie's room. I'm pretty sure she's tired of the smell and stains of blood in here. _

Stein huffed in annoyance and anger as he quickly bent his knees and sat on the balls of his feet. The glass from the broken cup dug into his flesh, but he paid it no mind. The man put his hands above his face, a natural reflex to protect himself. Stein hastily navigated around his hands and pulled the bandana down his jaw to expose the man's face. He then grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him close to his face, Stein's eyes boring into his.

"I will only tell you once more: Leave my house." Stein added a slight giggle at the end of his words, knowing that the psychotic scientise touch would convince the intruder. _Damn it... I really don't want to tap into that side of myself, but I also don't want to kill him... Well I do. But Marie doesn't. _Stein produced a dark, sadistic grin and the man nodded quickly before scrambling to his feet and bolting out the door.

When he heard the front door open and swing shut heavily, Stein sat back on his rear then rested Marie, who was still in her weapon form, down on his lap, trying to remain emotionless. He could now feel the madness reaching forth, but it was still very weak. _If I remain emotionless now, perhaps it will stop it. _With a bright yellow glow, Marie morphed back into her human form. Her first thought was to get off of his lap, but her mind traveled back to Stein's giggles and insane grin from just a few moments ago. _If he really was slipping into the madness, I need to stop it _now_..._

"Franken..." her voice soft, Marie grabbed his hand and overlapped it with her free hand. Stein had his head dropped, looking downward, still trying to completely supress the expanding insanity. "Franken." her voice still had its soft qualities, but firmness was touched in, and Stein looked up at her through his eyelashes, moving his head up ever so slightly. At first glance, his eyes appeared to be blank. But Marie could see past that, she could see through the hole she had chiseled in the doctor's brick wall. She could see what he was really feeling.

_ Feeling. _

Marie could see the pain, the guilt, the torment, the hatred, the rage. Knowing that Stein was only just beginning to _really _feel and almost understand negative emotions and having to deal with all of this pained her; it made her feel as if someone was gripping her heart and stopping it from beating, stopping the bloodflow, thus making her feel as if she couldn't get enough oxygen throughout her body. Marie inhaled deeply, trying to clear her head.

"Yes?" He asked quietly after a few long moments passed and he felt the madness was just about fully contained. He knew he was now able to let his feelings and emotions out without consequece to his sanity- so went his theory- but he still didn't want to. _She can't see me like this anymore. She can't see my pain. _

"Thank you... For saving my life." Marie said softly as she pulled his hand up and held it to her chest.

Stein scoffed slightly, then scolding himself. _Now she's going to start asking questions..._

"Franken, what's wrong?" she said after her brow furrowed.

Stein sighed. "I'm... I'm just worried about you. How much longer can you keep this up, Marie?"

"Keep what exactly up?"

"How long can you stand being with me? My presence in your life has only caused you more pain in two months than you've probably ever had in your whole life. I've hurt you, Marie, mentally and physically." Stein looked down again and outstretched his long fingers, lightly resting them on her abdomen where the knife had entered her.

"Franken..." Marie began, she knew he was depressed and felt extremely guilty. He didn't respond at all. "Franken." Again, no response. Then, Marie attempted something she had not done since... Since she first met him. "Stein!" Her voice was raised slightly to add emphasis to what she said.

Stein's eyes shot up to Marie. _Did she just call me... Stein? She never calls me that. _he asked himself silently, feeling a little awkward by referring to hisself by his own name. "Marie?"

Marie successfully tried to supress a smile at her small victory in capturing the doctor's attention. "Stein, you need to listen to me." Her voice was quite firm and her grip on his hand tightened. "It was my decision to come here in the first place. Yes, Shinigami referred me here, but I could have gone somewhere else. I made the decision. And yes, Stein, you've hurt me. But that _was not you. _It was something that was controlling you."

"Yes, Marie, but my point is-"

"Don't interrupt me." Stein fell completely silent, curious in seeing this side of Marie. She was normally so warm in her words and tone of voice. Now she was firm and was talking in a tone that he had seldom ever hear. "For the past couple of months, _I_ have been making the decision to stay here with you. And, Stein, I know you don't want to admit that you're dependant on another person, but you need to face the fact that you can't do this alone. The madness may be spiking spasmatically, but we will figure this out. I will figure out a way to put an end to this."

A few long moments passed, Stein pondering over the Death Scythe's speech. _Maybe... Maybe she's right. But still... I don't see a way to supress the madness. And plus, the spikes are not spasmadic... They have a cause. Wait! That's it! If I can... Maybe I can... _The corners of Stein's mouth curved up ever so slightly, but Marie was able to see it and her mind rushed, as did her heart beat. If Stein was beginning to smile, that meant two things: he either found something out that he found amusing or he could be slipping into the madness. She loathed the thought of losing him right now, not only because seeing him like that was something of nightmares, but more particularly because she was breaking through to him.

"Franken, what are you smiling about?" Marie's voice was rather small.

"I have collected my data..." Stein's voice trailed off as his smile began to grow even further. _The smile might be exhaggerated, but she needs to see that right now. Plus I still _am _smiling._ Marie tilted her head in curiosity and confusion. "I have formed my hypothesis. Now, Marie... We just need to test the experiment."

**DUN DUN DUNNNN. Cliffhanger. Haha sorry for that :P Just to get this out of the way, I am going to be changing the title of this fic (if lets me, that is.) If I can change it, it will called Hymn for the Missing. **

**Thanks again for reading this far, and thanks for being patient with how long it takes me to upload the chapters. Starting my first year in high school has been easy, but it is still pretty time consuming. Anyway, THANK YOU! I love all of you! :) -Mikshizels**


	27. Chapter 27

_Huh. I know it is a pretty important matter, but I find it almost amazing how Lord Death manages to run this school, deal with whatever else problems _and_ see me the morning after he gets a report of my condition from Spirit. _"So, Lord Death, you wanted to see me?" Stein asked in his usual monotone voice.

"Yes, Stein." the tall grim reaper stood up straight. "You know why you are here, so I suppose we should just skip the whole matter and press on to what we are going to do about it." A few moments passed as Stein went over his plan for what seemed the millionth time to make sure he had it all in check. "Obviously you cannot go on teaching for a while given your condition. I believe I have come up with a plan on how we could treat you, but knowing that you are Dr. Stein, I presume you have already come up with something."

"Yes, I have." Stein responded almost immediately. He took shallow breaths as his eyes casually fell around the Death Room, making sure he knew what he was going to say for the last time.

"Well?" Lord Death now seemed quite curious as he was leaning to his left with his head tilted.

"I have theory. I just hope it is correct." Stein paused a moment before he continued. "My madness has been spiking as what some believe to be spasmatically. I, however, have noticed a pattern. Whenever I am within about thirty foot diameter of Crona, I can feel the madness trying to claw its way out. I presume this is because I digested Crona's blood, thus it spreading through my body. I don't really understand _how_ it only needs to be digested to transfer, but I will think about that later. Now the reason I believe this is the pattern is simple. The blood reacts to its origin."

Lord Death gave a questioning look from behind his mask. "Oh? How so?"

"Crona himself said he can no longer harden the black blood and he can't really feel his madness anymore. Of course, he admits it is still there. Insanity cannot just go away; It lives with you till the day you die. But for him, it is so supressed, it is almost like it isn't even there. The black blood within Crona seemed to have lost its properties a few days after he left Medusa, the blood's origin." Stein pulled a cigarette out of his stitched lab coat and placed it between his lips before he lit it with a match. He then put his hands in his lab coat pockets.

"So are you saying you need to stay away from Crona? If so, I don't know if I can do that. This is now Crona's home, just as it is yours. Plus, he needs to attend this academy so I can continue to monitor him." Lord Death's point was valid, but it was not what the doctor had in mind.

"Actually, no. I was thinking the exact opposite." Stein stated casually, smoke coming out of his mouth. "I was thinking I should spend a small amount of time around Crona each day, every day increasing the amount of time."

"Why? You just said the black blood reacts to its origin. Why would you want to be around Crona every day?" Lord Death's mousy voice was now completely quizzical.

"Although I do not believe in luck, I believe there is such a thing as will power. If the blood is around the origin every day, I will have every day to fight back and get stronger."

"So you're saying you can just build your will power and hope for the best?" the grim reaper was doubtful, but he knew that if Dr. Stein had a theory _and_ an experiment, things would probably turn out as planned.

"I am." A few moments passed as both men pondered Stein's plan. "I just need a safe place to perform the experiment. I doubt the lab would be sufficient given it is easy to escape. Plus..." An odd silence filled the Death Room before Lord Death's curiosity bested him.

"What, Stein?"

The tall doctor took a moment to respond. "I was just thinking... Marie needs a break from me..."

The grim reaper stood straight but his head was tilted to the side a bit. "Why would you say that?"

Stein's once monotone face soon shadowed to be what Shinigami thought was sadness. "For all of the pain and suffering, both physical and psychological, I have caused her, I need to stay away from her. She needs time to heal. Perhaps her entire life. I don't know if she will ever truly heal from what I have done to her, truth be told."

"Stein! You can't honestly believe that!" The doctor frowned curiously and waited for the reaper to continue. "Marie Mjolnir is a Death Scythe of the DWMA. She is not weak."

Stein raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, but she is also human. Every night I hear her cry because of her pain. I constantly give her painkillers for her wounds, yet she still cries and it is because of me. I can see the fear and pain in her soul everyday..." Stein's voice trailed off, leaving him to sulk in his guilt.

Lord Death sighed. "Stein, Marie may have fear, but I am sure is not because she is afraid _of _you. She is afraid _for _you."

"Yeah, yeah. She told me that already. But what of the pain she is constantly suffering from? Huh? Who's fault is that?"

"No one's, really. She feels pain for you. She hates to see you go through so much. Come on, Stein, I'm sure you've figured this out already." Lord Death implied as the doctor only looked down and slowly shook his head. "She loves you, Stein."

Stein eyelids dropped about halfway and he stared at his grey boots. "She shouldn't though."

"But she _does_. So really, forcing her to stay away from you will only cause her even more damage." Several moments passed by as Stein tried desperatly to regain control of his emotions. He needed to if he wanted to focus on figuring how to control his sanity. "Anyway, Stein, I believe I know where we can keep you whilst performing your experiment." _My, my. "Experiment" is such an odd word for me to use in a case like this, but I suppose I should use Stein's choice of words so he is comfortable._

Stein raised an eyebrow. "Somewhere in the academy I imagine?"

Lord Death nodded his head. "Yep. You remember the holding cells that we kept Crona in after he left Medusa?"

Images of the dungeon-like cells filled Stein's head, making him think of insane asylums. His heart began pounding at the thought of it, but he did not allow any expression to be shown on his monotone face. "I do."

"Well we can keep you in one of those. Every day Crona will sit by your doorstep without speaking to you. That way you can get used to him just being around. Then after that, he will come into your room and just have a short chat. Every day, you two will spend enough time in the same room till you can completely manage the madness. Pretty simple, huh?" The grim reaper drew out the first syllable of "pretty", and Stein nodded in agreement.

"But then what of Marie? You said forcing myself out of her life would only cause her more damage." Although his voice was casual and plain, there was still a hint of worry in Stein's last words.

"Hrrmm..." Lord Death put his giganctic thumb and index finger on his mask as he thought of an answer for the meister's question. "Ah! She will come by every day after Crona leaves. I have noticed that her presence has a calming effect on you."

"Yes... And after I am able to be around Crona and hold back the madness with more ease, I will need Marie's visits to cease."

"Why is that?"

"I need to make sure I can stop my insanity without her." Stein stated simply.

"Ah. Well I suppose I should start preparing your room then. Come back tomorrow afternoon and we will get you situated."

Stein nodded and put his hands in his pockets as he turned from the reaper and made his way down the guillotine hallway. _This is not going to be easy, but if I want to make it out with my sanity intact, I need to do this. Now I just need to tell Marie what is going on..._Stein gave a heavy sigh as he reached the end of the hallway, pulled open the Death Room door and entered another hallway of the academy, the same spot where he last encountered Crona. _I wonder how this will effect Marie. I presume she will not enjoy the fact of me staying in the underground cells of the academy, but this needs to be done. She might even be relieved to know that she won't have to worry about me anymore. _Stein began walking down the hall to go back to the laboratory, and a smirk spread across his face. _But knowing that woman, she will worry regardless. Oh, Marie. You never cease to astound me. _

** Hey guys, I need you all to come up with a big event that will occur in the end of the story. I will pick the one I like best, so technically, this is a contest! So hurry and tell me what you think the event should be. Thanks :) -Mikshizels**


	28. Chapter 28

**Hey! So the beginning of this chapter is coherent with Stein's meeting with Lord Death. Hope you enjoy it! :)**

_Stein... I love you, but I don't know how much longer I can do this... I'm getting weaker... No. I am not getting weaker. All of this is making me stronger. I am a Death Scythe, I am not weak. And... I promised him I would help him out of this... _Marie's thoughts remained on the same topic all morning. She wanted to get out of bed and do something productive so she could think better. For some reason, if she were doing something such as cleaning she could think clearer. However, her wounds kept her from doing so. Sure, her power of Healing Wavelength constantly surged through her, making her wounds heal quicker than it would any normal person, but it still hurt. Now all she could think about was how strongly she felt toward helping Stein out of the madness. _Oh well, he should be back soon. That way he can fill me in on what Lord Death has in mind and I can think about what I can do to help._ Marie sighed in defeat. She may be mentally going over her strength in the matter time and time again, but she still felt as if she needed to do something. Something like talk to Stein, reassure him for God knows how many times that it will all be ok. _I just hope it _will_ be ok... _

A few hours of the tiresome Death Scythe's deep thought passed by. To her it may have been critical thinking, but in reality it was merely her mind on a loop, repeating the same topic, sometimes the same sentance, over and over again. That's all she could really do, what with lying in her bed all day. Every now and then, she would turn her head over to her right to see the digital clock mounted on the bedside table. The red blocky numbers read 9 a.m. Marie gave a small growl in slight annoyance. _Damn it... Stien said good bye to me this morning around 8:30, so he probably just got there..._

A low grumble erupted from Marie's stomach. She closed her eyes and rested her head on the back of her bed, debating whether she should deal with the pain and make something to eat, or if she should just wait for Stein to get back. She wanted to just wait, given the fact that Lord Death loves to talk, so that would probably be a thirty-minute conversation, plus it takes about thirty minutes to walk home from the academy. So really, it would probably only be an hour till Stein got back.

But still, she was hungry. Her stomach continued to growl at her and it felt as if it were twisting. Marie tried to keep her mind off of it by continuing to think, but her hunger was limiting her. _Wait a minute... When was the last time I've eaten anything? I remember eating a sandwich a little while before those men broke into the house- er... laboratory. And that was... Two days ago? Yeah. Damn... I haven't eaten in two days. Wow, Stein you sure are a great doctor, making sure your potients eat. But then, you did save my life... Ah well. _

About twenty minutes passed by before Marie felt as if she were about to throw up. Her stomach was churning in defiance at the neglectance of food as she finally pushed the light blue blanket off of her legs and attempted to stand. her calves felt unstable at first given she had been off of her feet for hours, but she quickly gained her balance and was able to stand. It would have been a pretty simple task, but the stab wounds in her upper right thigh and abdomen sent dull waves of pain through her.

If she were just a normal person, that pain would have been much, _much_ worse. But as stated before, the ever-flowing stream of Healing Wavelength that lived inside the little Death Scythe only made her recovery a lot faster. Marie slowly limped her way to the kitchen, almost cursing herself for always taking advantage of her ability to easily walk across the house. When she finally got to the kitchen, she immediately pulled the refridgerator door open, looking for anything that she could quickly prepare. Finding foods she only wanted to _not_ eat, she began searching the cupboards. She may be starving, but she _did_ still want something good.

After a minute or so of the frantic raid for food, Marie's amber eye fell upon a can of chicken and dumplings soup, hiding behind other cans that were plastered with vegetable labels. She reached her peach- colored arm to the back of the cupboard and pulled the soup can out. She then yanked the top off of the can, poured the soup into a clear glass bowl she had retrieved from the drying rack next to the sink and quickly popped it in the mircorwave. Marie then set the can down on the counter. She would have used the stove to warm the soup, but she knew this way would be faster.

As Marie waited for what seemed like an eternity- but was really only three minutes- her mind began to wander back to the night the three men broke into the laboratory. _I wonder what those three men did after they ran out. Perhaps they just kept their mouths shut. If I was in the man that was holding me hostage's situation, I wouldn't say anything. He was terrified of Stein. He even ran out of the house like a little girl. _Several high-pitched beeps from the microwave pulled Marie out of her thoughts.

She sat down at the table and instantly began shoveling spoonfuls of hot soup in her mouth, savoring the the peppery and oniony flavor with the chicken and carrots. After a few spoonfuls, her mind was already much clearer. _Right. And even if he wasn't pissing in his pants out if fear, that man could probably guess that if he said anything, Stein would find him and kill him._ Marie smirked at the thought of a grown man being _that_ terrified of Stein. Sure, she had to admit that the doctor could be pretty intimidating. But really, Stein would only go after somebody if they were a threat or if he was bored and wanted to experiment on something.

_I guess some people are easily scared off. Ah well. _Marie continued to shovel the soup into her mouth, enjoying every spoonful of it. About seven minutes after she sat down to eat, the bowl was empty and Marie's hunger still was not satisfied. She frowned at her stomach, scolding it for being so demanding. "Fine. One more." Marie huffed as she stood from her chair and made herself another bowl of the same type of soup. She set the can down next to the first.

Marie sat down with the bowl again, embracing in the warmth of the soup. This time she wasn't so hasty, so she took smaller bites. A few minutes passed by and she was about half-way through with finishing the bowl.

"So I take it you really like Progresso." a low, monotone voice sprang forth that could not have been more than a foot behind her startled her, causing a spoonful of soup to fly up and hit her in the face. Fortunately, it was only broth.

Marie looked straight up to find Stein standing directly over her- leaning forward a little bit, actually- with a smirk spread across his face. His grey hair fell down around his face as he adjusted the huge iron bolt in his head.

"Franken!" Marie glared up at him. "You scared me to death!"

"Hm. But it appears you really_ are _quite fond of that soup judging how you have it all over your face." The smirk on Stein's face only grew and Marie stood from the chair.

"Yes, I do in fact like soup," the Death Scythe stated as she limped to the counter to retrieve a napkin so she could wipe ofo her face. "So you seem to be in a better mood." Marie observed as she threw the napkin away.

"Why do you say that?" Stein asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You're smiling and you're back to using sarcasm."

"Well, techinacally, it's a smirk, not a smile. And second, sarcasm is simply part of me. Anyway, Lord Death and I have a plan. I don't know why, but I have a feeling it will work."

Marie's face instantly lit up at Stein's words. _It's going to be alright._ "What is it?" curiosity burned through her voice with a hint of hope. Stein explained his plan to Marie, almost cringing at how her once cheery expression became a little darker.

"What's the matter, Marie? You seem upset."

Marie's brow furrowed and she looked to the ground. "It's just... I won't see you as often..."

Stein sighed. "Marie, this is going to make me so I won't be a danger to anyone anymore. I will be able to live my life without constantly fighting."

"Yes, I know. But the thing is, you're going to have to fight nonstop for a long time to get there."

"Well of course. If you want something, shouldn't you have to work to get it?" Marie nodded slowly. "Plus, it's not like you won't see me at all. You are a huge part of the experiment anyway."

Marie smiled and looked up. "Yes. That is very true, doctor." A short moment of silence followed before Marie's eyes fell upon the bowl on the table. "Now, I shall eat thy soup." the Death Scythe took a few strides to the table and continued eating. Stein smirked when he noticed not one but two empty cans on the counter. Stein threw the cans in the trash and grabbed a spoon from a drawer before he went to Marie's side.

"Miss Mjolnir, may I join you?"

Marie smiled. "You may," she said, not noticing the silverware the doctor held in his hand. Stein nodded, sat down and dipped the spoon in the bowl, trying to stifle a laugh as he observed her expression when he took large spoonful of the soup.

"Mmm... I can understand why you enjoy this gourmet soup-out-of-a-can so much, Miss Mjolnir."

"Hey! That is _my _gourmet soup-out-of-a-can!" Marie's brow was furrowed as she pulled the bowl closer to her.

"Yes, I can see that." Stein stated nonchalantly

"Get your own damned soup!" the Death Scythe growled.

"No... I think I will have some later." Stein said coolly as he stepped away from the table and put his spoon in the sink. He began to walk out of the kitchen to go to the living room, but he stopped and turned back to the Death Scythe. "Oh, and Marie?"

"Yes?" She asked after she swallowed a mouthful of soup.

"Remind me to stock up on Progresso." Stein said with a smirk spread across his face.

**Hellooor :3 So the reason why I made Stein and Marie to be in better moods is I am tired of this story being sad. Plus I figured it needed a change, and it would make you guys happy. See what I do for you? And by the way, the reason why the Progresso had such a big part in this chapter is because I was eating the same soup, and it was amazing. So I wanted everyone else, including our favorite meister and weapon, to know just how great Progresso is ^_^ -Mikshizels**


	29. Chapter 29

**Alright now for Ch. 29... Btw sorry it has been taking me longer to update. This week has been completely chaotic and insane, so I don't know how this chapter will turn out. I'll try to make it happy as possible though. And also, I am going to reference a moment in the Soul Eater series. Try to see if you can find it :P**

Stein took a step into the cold, dark holding cell in the underground dungeon beneathe the DWMA. He could hear mice crawling through the walls and water dripping from somewhere down the hall. It even slightly smelled of mildew. Although, Stein really did not care. All he wanted was to get the next couple of weeks over with; he well knew they were going to be anything but easy.

"I know the room does not meet the standards for one of the DWMA's professors," The high-pitched voice that could only belong to Lord Death met Stein's ears, and he turned around to see the reaper standing on the threshold. "but these cells were not exactly made for any of the academy's members.

"It's alright, Lord Death. I understand." Stein said as he exhaled and continued to look around the cell. It wasn't too small, but it wasn't huge either, and it had a bed, toilet and sink. If it had stitches covering the walls, Stein would might have found the room appealing. However, the bare grey stone walls were rather boring to him. The tall professor walked to his bed and set down his suitcase down, where he found a note on the blanket.

_Franken, I'll stop by after school before Crona gets there. Just make yourself comfortable till I get there._

_ Marie._

Stein inhaled deeply and set the note back on the bed. _It's still so relieving to know she is already able to start teaching again._ While he let his thought pass through his mind, he checked his wrist watch. 2:34. The academy school hours end at three p.m, so he had time to collect his thoughts before Marie would get there.

"So," Lord Death spoke up, "is there anything I can do for you before I go?"

Stein was quick to respond, "No, no. I'm fine. Thank you, Lord death."

The reaper gave a short nod of his head before he shut the thick, heavy metal door and locked it then left. Stein took in a deep breath and sat down on the bed with his legs spread and outsretched, his back hunched, and his head down with his forearms resting on his thighs. He gave a heavy sigh and shut his eyes, reaching his large hand up to the bolt and twisted it a few times. It helped even out his thoughts a bit but not by much.

Stein looked up, trying to find something to focus on. All his olive green eyes fell upon, however, was bare stone walls, save a mirror which graced the wall right in front of him. It was covered in dust, but the scientist could still see his reflection clearly. All he saw was the same thing he saw the night Marie showed up at his doorstep so many weeks ago. The only difference was his eyes were their normal color. Memories of that night drifted back to him, images flowing within his mind. All he could think about was how nervous Marie was when she saw his bare torso.

_Why do women find a well-toned body appealing? It is merely muscle. _Stein's curiosity soon got the best of him before he removed his lab coat and turtleneck shirt to try to find anything that could aid him and help him understand. However, all he really found was less muscle and more flab. _What? I am losing muscle mass... Why? Perhaps it is because I haven't been doing my usual training..._ Every morning before and after he taught at the academy, Stein would go to a secluded area, a small plataue, behind the DWMA where he could perform his advanced skills in martial arts as well as normal training excercises such as push up and sits ups.

Stein checked his watch again, wondering if he'd have time to regain any muscle mass whatsoever before Marie got there. _2:40. Plenty of time. _The professor dropped to the floor and started doing push- ups, wondering if he'd be able to do as many as usual given the fact that he has lost some strength. He was able to count sevety-three, which is by far below his standars.

Stein took a short break, annoyed how he failed to do what he could do just a few weeks before. _That is not acceptable. It may just be body strength, but really, that is all I have left that I can still control. _Stein took heavy breaths, checking his watch. _2:50. Did it really take me ten freaking minutes to do that many push- ups?!_ Stein huffed in annoyance and got on his back for sit- ups. A small shiver ran down his back when his bare skin came in contact with the cold, hard floor. Stein paid it no mind, however, when he began his sit-ups. He strived to atleast reach his goal, which was one hundred twenty, but was disappointed when he found he could only muster one hundred seven.

The irritated doctor lye on his back panting, getting angrier by the second. _Damn it! I'm letting everything slip out of my hands, even my health and strength! _Stein clamped his eyes shut and sneered as he sat up. He went to his bed and sat down, his body damp with sweat. _I can't let even more things that signify who I am slip away from me... If I do, who will I be in the end? _Stein went back to the his previous spot and resumed his push-ups. He started from one, determined to reach at least one hundred.

"One, two, three, four..." With every number, his breath was more labored. He closed his mind off from the outside world and focused on his strength, on every muscle in his shoulders and arms. They soon began to burn and Stein sucked in more air, trying to extinguish the fire under his skin.

As Marie walked down the dimly-lit halls of the underground dungeon, her mind was racing. _What if it doesn't work? What if he's never the same again? What will the academy do? The students can't lose him... Most of them won't admit it, but they are all so fond of him... _Marie stopped in her tracks and gasped. _What will I do?! _"Ohh..." Marie whimpered as she continued her walk down the hall, passing by several heavy metal doors. The Death Scythe fretted and scolded herself _for_ fretting the entire time till she got to Stein's cell.

Marie stopped in front of the door, taking in a deep breath. She wanted to go in and see Stein, to reassure him for God knows how many times that everything would be ok and everything would work out. She only needed to believe it herself...

But even so, her fear of seeing him in the state he'd been in for the past couple of weeks weighed her down and made her chest feel heavy. Marie looked down, trying to compose herself before she opened the door. She closed her eye, took another deep breath and listened to her surroundings. It was relatively quite, save some mice running about and water leaking. And, a labored voice counting.

Marie opened her eye and furrowed her eye brows. _Franken...? _She opened the door to see Stein doing push-ups on the floor.

"Eighty-five... Eighty-... six... Eighty-... sev-en..." Stein's voice was very labored, and he looked like he was about to collapse. His muscles rippled underneathe his sweat-covered skin, making Marie's breath catch in her throat and her eye widen. _Oh. My. God. _

"Eigh-ty... eight..." Stein was then shaking violently with beads of sweat rolling down his arms. He finally let his arms give and his, in Marie's and probably any other woman's opinion, beautifully carved-by-the-gods body crash the floor. The sweat-covered meister lye on the floor panting with his eyes tightly shut and a sneer twisted on his face.

Marie tried desperately to find her voice for several minutes, wishing that she could say _anything_. Although, she did have to admit it was pretty nice to see Stein panting shirtless, with his muscles rippling beneathe his sweat-covered skin..._ Damn it, Marie! Snap out of it!_

After a few moments, Stein got back up into the push-up position. _Just what on _Earth _is he trying to do? He looks like he is about to pass out! _ "One... Two... Three... F-four... Fi-i-ve..." Stein continued his push-ups, his breathing and movements much more labored than before. _Come on, Marie! Stop seeing this as something hot! He's going to hurt himself! Wait... Oh God he;s going to hurt himself!_

That thought alone was enough to break Marie out of her trance-like state and she found her voice, even though it was small, causing her to stutter. "F-Franken!" Stein stopped in the middle of a push-up, his muscles trembling violently.

"M-Marie?" Stein then collapsed, his breathing ragged and short.

Marie rushed to his side, turning him on his back and picking up his head. "Franken, breathe. Breathe." Her words were soothing, almost like a spell to him, making him do exactly what she said. "Franken, what the hell were you doing?"

"My..." His words were immediately cut short by him having to take in a heavy breath. "I'm letting myself slip, Marie..."

The blond was now utterly confused. "What? So you're going to push yourself past your limit and hurt yourself? How is that going to help you?"

"I haven't even been excercising, Marie..." Stein sat up, "First I lose my mind, then I start losing my muscle. If I let myself go, I won't _be_ me anymore..." Stein's voice trailed off.

At the mention of his muscles, Marie's eye slowly explored every curve of his well-toned torso and arms. "Uh..." She stopped and cleared her throat before she managed to continue, "Franken, I don't know if you've noticed, but you still do have quite a bit of muscle mass."

Stein raised an eyebrow and looked into the Death Scythe's eye, noticing how it traveled all around his bare body. "That's not so easy for me to say..." Stein stopped and gave a short, half-hearted laugh. "But it appears you could say I am looking better than ever."

"Now why is that?" She asked after she swallowed, her amber eye finally managed to meet his olive ones.

Stein smirked. "By the way you can't take your eye off of my body." Marie's eye widened and she blushed, suddenly finding great interest in the wall and decided she should study it. Stein laughed again, the same laugh as before, only a bit longer. "It's ok, Marie. I think you forget that you have seen me shirtless plenty of times."

Marie tried to clear her mind so she could look Stein in the eye, not his chest, when she spoke to him. Although it took several slow, torturously long seconds, Marie managed to tear her eye away from the wall and look the meister in the eye. Her forehead was now beginning to dampen with sweat and she still felt as if she needed to look away from Stein, but she forced herself to smile. But then the professor spoke again.

"Plus, you've seen _more_ of me than just my torso." Stein said with a grin. He knew Marie's head was exploding at that point when she stopped dead and blushed. She tried to speak, but all that came from her mouth were short stutters that could in no way whatsoever be words.

"It's so easy to mess with you, Marie!" Stein laughed.

Marie furrowed her brows and slapped his arm with the back of her hand. "That's not funny, Franken!"

"What? It's not that bad... All we did was-"

"I know what we did!" Marie cut him off.

"Yeah, and it was nice." Stein leaned back and used his arms to prop himself up, giving Marie a nice view of his chest and abs. Marie stopped breathing for a brief while, but she soon relaxed and smiled at him. _How is it he was mad at himself just a few minutes ago and jumped to being happy? Oh well. If he's happy, I'm happy._

Marie was torn from her thoughts when she heard a knock on the metal cell door, snapping her head up to see a certain pink-haired boy with a very nervous look on his face. Stein also looked up, his expression suddenly darkening slightly.

"Hello, Crona." the professor said. His voice was even and monotone, a dry wasteland that lacks emotion.

"He-hello, Prof-fessor Stein." he stuttered. Marie gave one of her warm smiles at the boy, sympathy etching its way into her heart. She knew it wasn't Crona's fault for Stein's condition, and he did too, but he still felt so guilty about it.

"Thank you for coming, Crona." Marie said sweetly.

Stein's eyes darted to Marie. _How can anyone always be so cheerful? I suppose that is something else I just don't understand..._ Stein then felt something in the back of his mind growing, reaching out, slowly trying to gain dominance. _Let's see how far I can stand it before it gets too strong. _Stein closed his eyes and focused on his own sense of self and who he is, trying to keep his mind intact.

Marie's smile soon faded when she noticed Stein with his eyes closed and his face twisted in a determined, dark look. _What...? He was just fine a moment ago... Oohh yeah... It's because Crona is here..._ Crona also must have noticed the way Stein was acting because he quickly spoke up.

"S- so, I'll just be g-going now..." The pink-haired boy waited for confirmation, not knowing if Stein or Marie would object to his leaving.

Marie also waited, her eye glued to Stein, searching for any sign of him slipping. He didn't move, didn't say a word. He was barely even breathing for that matter. After about a minute passed, Marie looked back up to Crona and gave a short nod then a small smile. Crona returned the expression and quickly left the cell, nearly running down the hall.

Several moments passed and Stein still had not moved. While she waited, Marie listened to all of the sounds of the dungeon her ears could collect. First, she heard Crona's quick footsteps getting further and further away till she couldn't hear them anymore. Then she just listened to water dripping, mice scratching in the walls, and Stein's shallow breathing. She had been waiting for a long while now, probably fifteen minutes. She wanted to get help, but she knew it would be pointless. _This is something he needs to accomplish on his own. But still... I need to help him. _

"Franken," she whispered to him softly as she cupped his cheek in her hand. "Franken, listen to my voice." He didn't open his eyes or say anything, but his fingers twitched slightly and he started breathing normally, so Marie continued. "You can do this. Focus on who you are. Who _you _are..."

Stein took in a deep breathe through his nose and relaxed, relishing in her voice. It was something that he could really focus on, something that tied him down and stopped his mind from wandering. Most importantly, she was a part of him now. And not just because he started to develop feelings for her, but because her soul had such a calming effect on him, and he knew he would remember moments like this forever. She had engraved her name in his mind; he could never forget her.

The entire time he was motionless, he was battling the madness for dominance, trying to keep his sanity from shattering. Eventually, with the sound of Marie's voice as an aid, he was able to prove his dominance over the madness. It receded, only a miniscule ember of heat in the back of his mind. He opened his eyes and stared down, not letting his gaurd down. He may have won the battle, but the war was not even close to over. _But still... I have to admit gaining my dominance over it was refreshing! _

A small grin spread across the professor's face as he relished in his victory. Marie's eye widened slightly when she saw the smile; if he lost it already, she would need to run like hell and lock the door. "Fr- Franken?" Her heart beat picked up a little and she started to back away.

"I'm fine, Marie," Stein said casually after he looked up and smiled at the Death Scythe. He saw fear in her eyes, fear and worry. He tried his best to soften his own eyes and to look completely sane for her sake. "Really, Marie. I am alright. The only reason I was smiling is the fact that I was able to supress the madness and keep my sanity."

Marie's fear and worry melted away when she smiled at him and threw her arms around his neck. "That's wonderful, Franken!" her voice was filled with so much happieness, Stein thought she might cry. _Damn, I know she's happy, but... Damn. Should I be happier? Or is her tendency to get overly emotional just presenting itself? _

Stein wrapped his arms around Marie's waist, burying his face in her hair so he could smell her sweet scent of strawberries, coconuts and vanilla. _Her scent... I should remember it. That way when I need to fight off the madness, I can think about it. _Stein took in adeep breath through his nose, drinking in her scent. _Anything that ties to my sane self could help. _

Marie pulled away from him a few moments later blushing. "Anyway, I-I should, uh... Get going. I've got some papers to grade." She managed with a smile. With a nod of his head, Stein stood then reached his hand down to Marie in offering to help her up. She grabbed his hand and he pulled up, struggling to make it seem effortless. His muscles still felt as if they were numb from doing so many push-ups.

The woman walked to the already opened cell door, turning around to face the meister. "I'll see you tomorrow, Franken."

"Yeah. See ya later, Marie." Stein said as he put his hands in his pants pockets.

With a warm smile spread across her face, Marie exited the cell, pulling the heavy door with her, and locked it when it shut. She walked several feet down the hall, twenty more or less, till she stopped walking and leaned against the hallway wall and the corners of her mouth curled in another small smile.

_ Oh, Franken, you're doing better... You did it. But then, you still did need my help. But even so, all that matters is you did it. _Marie sighed and looked down at her shoes. _I just hope you can do what you did today when the madness gets stronger..._

** Ahhh finally, this chapter is finally done... Sorry if this chapter is kinda boring, but I will do everything I can to make the next couple of chapters more eventful. Thanks so much for reading, your using your time to read my story and review means the world to me! :D And btw, did you find the SE series reference? **

** Once again, thanks! :) -Mikshizels**


	30. Chapter 30

Marie walked back to the laboratory alone with bipolar bubbles of emotion popping in her gut. At one moment, she'd be happy that Stein was finally able to force the madness back and keep himself from losing his sanity. Just another minute later she would be fretting about how much the already damaged doctor would have to fight. And after that, she would be terrified for him.

_ Oh no... What if he can't do it? What if he's just not strong enough? I understand that he's the one and only Professor Stein, but even so, he's still human..._ Marie soon lost herself in her ever-churning thoughts, causing her strides to be faster and longer. Before she knew it, she was already opening the gate of the laboratory property. She walked up the steps, trying to ignore the slight throbbing pain that seeped through her body. _No. Stop thinking like that, Marie! _The Death Scythe scolded herself for being so worried as she opened the large door and slightly limped through the living room and sat down on the purple couch with her head hanging down and her eye closed. I need to stay strong for him. _He is trying so hard already, yet he still needs my help. If I myself am not prepared to do what I need to do, how can I do anything for him? _

At that moment, Marie sighed and looked up._ But still, I need to find a way to _really_ help him. Like and object or something..._ She let her eye wander, trying to find anything that could give not only her aide, but Stein also. _Maybe a photo of him when he was younger or something..._ Marie thought as she stood and paced around the living room. She observed the computer desk for a short while, debating whether she should go through it or not.

_I know that Franken isn't very possesive or has a need for privacy,_ Marie put all of her weight on her left leg and placed her right hand on her hip._ But he still might get upset if he found out I was going through his desk... Oh well. If I find anything, this could be to his benefit. _She took a few small, quick strides to the desk, still trying to convince herself that what she was about to do was ok. She pulled open the top drawer only to find a thick binder with several files in it. Marie picked it up and looked into the drawer more, trying to find anything else that might be of use. She found nothing, however, and decided to look in the drawer below the one that was now open.

Marie let out a small shriek and dropped the binder when she saw a mouse run across her foot. When the binder hit the floor, all of the files flew out from their place, and the papers scattered all over the place. Marie sighed and bent down to pick up the papers, trying to ignore the warm pain that came from her abdomen and thigh with an eye out for that mouse. _Wow. I am a Death Scythe, yet I am afraid of a little mouse._ She gathered most of the papers while she tried to organize them the same way they were in the first place. That was when she saw it.

_Mjolnir, M. _was labeled on a stapled pack of papers. "Wha...?" She Marie picked it up and her eye widened, surprise and worry pooling within her. The state of surprise was quite short-lived, but the worry remained. _I shouldn't be socked that he has a file on me. He probably has a file on everyone. But still... What information does he have? What if he somehow managed to experiment on me...? _Marie still had not read her file, she was too afraid to. _OH DEATH, THAT WOULD EXPLAIN THE RANDOM SCAR ON MY LEFT ANKLE!_

The blond ripped open the file to find a picture of herself. She raised an eyebrow and surprise began to flow through her again. It was not that it was a bad photo of her, actually it was a very good photo. Well, an amazing picture. She was standing at the end of the rock peir of... What was that...? Oceanside? Large water droplets of a huge wave that had just crashed up against a rock behind her was threatening to rain down on her so fiercly that it would probably knock her over. Her long blond hair blew to the side slightly due to the small whisper of a breeze, and the bright moonlight of the night after the harvest moon gave plently of light to see every detail of the beautiful short yellow, orange and red sundress she was clad in. _Ohh I remember that night! Spirit, Kami, Franken and I went to Oceanide a long time ago. I was ragging on them both for picking such a ridiculous time to go to the beach. Kami was pregnant with Maka, it was the beginning of Fall, and it was midnight. Yeah, let's go to the beach with a very pregnant woman when it's freezing! _Then Marie remembered how Spirit and Stein had finally convinced her to walk down the peir made up of very large rocks. Because of the pervious night's moon, the tide was still pretty strong and waves crashed against the rocks, causing water to spray all over them. The water was freezing! When they got to end of the peir, Kami begged Marie to let her take a picture of her with the small disposable camera they had just bought. Just a few miliseconds after the pregnant woman took the picture of the soon-to-be Death Scythe, a huge wave came smashing upon a slightly larger rock that was behind her and water flep up. Sure, it made a great picture, but when that freezing water already met her chilled skin, she shrieked and jumped on Spirit, trying to find some warmth. It was a useless effort, however, because Spirit was just as equally drenched.

Marie smiled as the memories of that night kept on flowing through her mind like a river made up of silk. Stein was the only smart one that night because he was the only one who chose to stay a few feet away from the end of the rock peir, thus staying dry. After Marie jumped on Spirit, Stein removed his lab coat and wrapped the small blond up in it. _He even had a lab coat fifteen years ago. The only difference was it was not covered in stitches. _Marie smiled more before she set the photo aside and held her file up so she could read it. At first she tried to decipher the doctor's sloppy handwriting, but she soon became accustomed to it and was easily able to read it. To be honesy, she half expected to find some information of an experiment on her body. All she found, however, were her character traits, things about her personality. The only thing that even came close to experimentation that she found was a short note on one of the papers. It read, _'She can easily switch from one emotion to another. If I so choose, I can easily manipulate her by words alone.'_

The Death Scythe raised and eyebrow and put the papers back in the file, then she gathered the rest of the scattered papers and tried to put them back in their original order so Stein wouldn't notice. She put the binder back in the desk then searched another drawer. The moment she opened it, she found a voice recorder. Probably so he could say what he is doing whilst performing an experiment, she presumed. She was going to search the rest of the desk, but then she thought of an idea.

Marie cleared her throat and took in a deep breath. She put the recorder just a few inches away from her mouth before she hit the record button.

_We tried to walk together, but the night was growing dark... Thought you were beside me, but I reached any you were gone. Sometimes I hear you calling from some lost and distant shore. I hear you cry in suffering for the way it was before... Where are you now? Are you lost? Will I find you again? Are you alone? Are you afraid? Are you searching for me? Why did you go? I had to stay... Now I'm reaching for you. Will you wait? Will you wait? WIll I see you again...?_

Marie continued singing till the end of the lyrics, then a short, silent pause followed before she began speaking. "Franken, the next couple of weeks won't be easy, you and I both know that. There are going to be times when you just want to give up and succumb, but you need to know that you can't give up. You _can't_. I promise I will help you through this the entire way. All you need to do is stay strong and fight. And... Remember that... I love you." Marie then ended the recording, put the recorder in her purse, then walked down the dark hallway to her room.

**Hey guys, I am soooo sorry it has taken me so long to update! I just moved and my laptop was packed without me knowing :( Plus school has really been stopping me from doing anything .-. I will try to go back to updating once every weekend, but I can't promise anything. Anyway, I am still looking for big event ideas for the end of the story, so give me some ideas! **

** And to answer one of pervious review's questions, no. I did not die. Thanks for reading! :) -Mikshizels**


	31. Chapter 31

**Mah bros, I am soooo sorry it has taken me so long to update! I moved a few weeks ago and my laptop charger was packed and now I have no idea where it is ._. Plus life really has gotten in the way… But nevertheless, I am back! Muahahaha. Yeah here's chapter 31 :D**

Stein sat on his bunk in the corner of the cold cell as his knowledge-craving mind explored his thoughts. He had not eaten anything in the past day, but it didn't bother him. All he could think about at the moment was how he was going to make it through his current condition alive and well, and how time seemed to cease to exist. It had been two days, more or less, since his first night there in the cell. Only two days and time had already seemed to have stopped for him.

Now all he could think about was his hunger for freedom and control. For the past eleven years, he had taken freedom and control for granted…. Stein took a long, heavy breath in as he let his mind wander over memories he wished he could forget. Well, forget permanently that is. Stein had never been able to fully extract the painful images from his mind, but he was able to push the thoughts out of his mind for more than a few months at a time. Of course there were times when it would just be laying on the floor while he stumbled barefoot in the night, but he always managed to regain his balance and avoid it.

Those memories were like the madness. He was able to suppress them, but he wasn't able to get rid of them. Not even the infamous Doctor Franken Stein could outrun his past…

_ "What is this place, Mother?" _

_ A single tear slowly escaped a young woman's left eye as she kneeled in front of her son and held his shoulders. "They'll make you better, sweetheart. They'll take care of you here."_

_ Confusion and worry flooded the young boy's face. "But where are we?"_

_ The mother looked down and closed her eyes before she could summon a good answer for her son. He may have been quite an intelligent child, but he was only eight! How could she tell him she is leaving him at an insane asylum? "This is… Uh… This is a school, baby. The teachers here don't look like normal teachers, so they will probably look really odd to you."_

_ The boy's eyes then widened in fear. He may have been smart, but aliens and other average eight-year-old fantasies were still a good part of his mind. He looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping- the only people he saw other than his mother was a short, young looking woman wearing all white and his father. He shot his father a scornful look before he turned back to his mother and whispered, "Are they aliens?"_

_ A small smile crept across his mother's face as she shook her head. "No, they're just teachers. Well, you know how a lot of times professors are also called doctors?" The little boy nodded his head quickly. "These people are like those people. They prefer to go by the term 'doctor'."_

_ With every second that passed by, the child's brain worked furiously to piece all of the information together to make one big picture. His brows furrowed and he looked as if he was determined to figure out what he had been told. His mother knew that look. He was scared and didn't know what to think, so, being the brilliant eight-year-old he was, he was going to keep on thinking till he figured out what was happening. She now knew she had two choices: sit here and wait for him to figure it out and watch as he feels betrayed and hurt, or she could leave now and take him inside before he has the chance to start crying. She chose the formal. How could she just walk away before he even has the chance to realize what is going on? _

_ "Mother… Is this a hospital?" _

_ Her heart sunk into her chest with grief. _

_ "Mother…? Are you…" a few tears ran down his cheeks, "leaving me?"_

_ She pulled her son into a tight hug and cried. "No! I would never leave you! I just… I just can't take care of you. These doctors will make you better so you can come home."_

_ The child clung to his mother as more tears fell. "But you're mother! You can do anything! You can take care of me!" _

_ The boy's father then stepped up and pulled on his arm. "Come on, you have to go now." The boy didn't even respond to his father's touch or words, so he gripped his arm tighter and pulled harshly. "I said you have to go."_

_ The little boy pushed his mother away, earning a hurt look from her. He turned to his father and looked him dead in the eye with a dangerous glare. "You don't care about me! You don't care about Mother! All you want is to get rid of me so you can have your fun!"_

_ The father was not shocked at all. He had seen his son shout like this more than once. "You know that is not true! I love you just as much as your mother does!"_

_ "Liar! You want Mother all to yourself so you can…" the boy's voice trailed off and his mother stood and took a step back._

_ "So I can what?!" the man was now furious._

_ A small giggle escaped the young boy's lips. "Cut her open…" The mother eyes widened as she took another step back. "And pull her intestines out and mutilate and destroy her body! You want to tear her to pieces and bathe in her blood!" With every word, his voice grew more impatient and he spoke quicker. Hysterical laughter soon left the boy gasping for breath._

_ "Nurse… Nurse!" The father of the insane child shouted out. The woman in all white rushed to the boy and grabbed his arms and tried to haul him into the asylum doors, but he bit her hand and his own tongue at the same time so hard that blood gushed into his mouth. She let out a ragged gasp of pain and let go of him out of instinct which allowed him to run a few feet away and continue laughing. Globs of dark liquid crimson poured out of his mouth and ran down his jaw and neck with every giggle. The nurse ran inside while his mother and father tried to calm him down. _

_ "S- son… It's alright." The father put his hands in front of him at about lower chest level and took small, slow steps toward his son, "I'm just going to take you inside…"_

_ "Oh, Father, you really are a hopeless buffoon, aren't you?"_

_ "W- what?"_

_ "You think I don't know what that place is? You want to lock me up and say goodbye to me forever!" More laughter erupted from the boy's lips. His eyes darted around spasmodically, but he somehow managed to miss the four doctors that came out of the asylum door. While the boy started to shout gruesome and vivid ideas of dissection and dismembering people, one of the doctors made an attempt to walk up to the boy. When he was noticed, he stopped. All the while, two of the doctors were presuming positions on the sides of the child. The last doctor managed to quickly run up behind the boy and push a long needle into his arm. The boy turned around quickly to see a tall, shadowed man towering over him. His eyelids were suddenly very heavy and he couldn't think straight. He couldn't even stand. Within a matter of seconds, the boy was passed out and he fell into the doctor's arms._

_ The mother of the boy ran to her son as tears poured down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry…" She pushed silver hair away from the boy's face and kissed his forehead. "I love you, Franken."_

"Stein, I brought you lunch." A male voice startled the scientist out of his thoughts. He made no attempt to respond. "Come on, Stein. You need to eat something."

"I'll eat when it's my only option left for survival."

The thick metal door of the cell slowly swung open and the redhead stepped in. "Stein, what good will starving yourself do?"  
Stein did not even look up at his former partner. "Go away, Spirit."

"No, Stein! You haven't eaten anything in days!" The Death Scythe set a tray with food contents down on the desk. "Now I'm not leaving here till you eat this God damned soup!"

At the sound of the words, Stein's mind snapped out of the past and to Marie. He remembered how he came home just a few days ago and she was eating not one but two full cans of soup. Then when he remembered how she cursed him to get his own "God damned soup" his lips twitched into a ghost of a smile. Fortunately, Spirit didn't seem to notice.

"Alright, Alright. I'll eat." A wave of relief washed over the weapon as Stein stood from his bed and made his way to the food.

"It's chicken and dumplings gourmet soup by the amazing Progresso," Spirit said in best impersonation of Marie.

"Did she tell you to give me this?" Stein asked as he gestured to the bowl.

"Yeah. Why?"

"No reason." Stein responded in his usual monotone voice. His eyes mindlessly wandered the tray to see what exactly he been given. _Milk, water, bread… My recorder?_ "What's this doing here?" he asked as he picked up the device.

"I don't know, really. Marie just told me to give it to you. She said there's a message on it or something and I'm not allowed to listen to it unless you give me permission." Spirit answered in an annoyed voice as he crossed his arms.

Stein raised an eyebrow. "You listened to it, didn't you?"

The Death Scythe's eyes widened slightly. "What? Pfft, no! Marie told me not to!"

"Since when do you respect women?" Stein's voice remained monotone and Spirit had a hurt look on his face. He actually looked like a teenage girl who's boyfriend had slapped her. Stein quickly noticed his mistake and sighed. "Spirit, I'm sorry… I didn't…."

Death Scythe shook his head. "Nah, it's ok. You're right." The two men made eye contact for a few brief moments before Spirit continued. "Anyway, I guess I should be going. I'll see you later, Stein."

Stein gave a quick nod of his head and sat back down on his bed with the tray of food in his hands. "Bye, Spirit."

After the red head left and the door was shut, Stein set the tray down and hit the Play button on the recorder.

_ We tried to walk together, but the night was growing dark…_

**And there is chapter 31... Wow. Thirty-one freaking chapters! I have to thank you guys for reading even though it takes me forever to update. You readers are what keep this story going. Anyway, I will have Chapter 32 up as soon as possible. **

** By the way, I had Circus for a Psycho by Skillet on a loop the entire time I was writing this chapter, and that song is amazing O.O Check it out if you want :P *whispers: Listen to it or I'll eat your soul* **


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